BatmanTAS The Consequences of the Phantasm
Chapter three: A sad girl
…
Back with Babs and Dick
….
Barbara and Dick had decided they would be staying in for a couple of nights well, they watched Steph. Dick had the next two days off and chosen to remain awake so Babs could get some rest as she just started with the BPD…as his new partner. Their Captain knew they were in a relationship. However, Dick was the only training officer available right now, so he got to work with his girlfriend, and the pair did keep it professional at work. Dick had entered a trance using a meditation technique Bruce had taught him to let his body rest. That's when he heard the sound that broke his trance, the pitter pater of a ten-year-old girl's feet. Thankfully this was not their first time watching Steph since Babs moved in with him, so she knew where she was. Babs also happened to be Stephanie's private Gymnastics coach after they noticed some disturbing interactions with the girl's old coach and some of his charges. Dick carefully untangled himself from Babs and made his way to the door, quietly opening it.
"Good morning, Ric," Stephanie says quietly with her cute, spunky voice and a grin. The young girl refused to call him by a 'naughty word,' so he was Ric to her.
"Good morning, Steph; let's let Babs sleep ok," Dick says with his charming boyish grin.
"Ok…have you learned to cook something other than cereal for breakfast?" Steph says with a cheeky grin. The first time Dick and Babs babysat Steph after Babs moved in, Dick had made cereal for two meals.
"Cheeky brat, I will make pancakes," Dick says with a grin at the little girl as he mussed her hair. Dick puts a pot of coffee on and gets to work making breakfast. He switched on Netflix and pulled up She-ra and The Princesses of Power, he had heard good things about it, and Steph was a good excuse to watch the show. Dick turns the oven on before going to mix up some buttermilk pancakes throwing in some chocolate chips.
"WOW!" Steph exclaims as she watches Adora touched the Sword of Protection for the first time. Dick decided to bring the pancakes and sausage he made to the living room so they could both continue to watch.
"So, Steph, what do you want to drink?" Dick asks as he finishes the last pancake.
"I will have a black coffee," Steph says with a happy grin and a hopeful look on her face as she looks over the couch.
"No way not after last time, so try again," Dick says with a shudder and a smile. The first time he babysat the girl with Babs, he had been up for three days, and his blood volume was about 75% coffee. Dick made the mistake of giving the girl a mug of coffee. The girl ended up loving the bitter drink, and Dick made his second mistake when he refilled her mug. The girl would have three mugs and just starting on her fourth when the caffeine hit her. Dick and Babs had a very hyper trained gymnast who stole the coffee pot on their hands. Ten minutes later, they had managed to gage and hogtie the little girl binding her with the inescapable knot to wait until she calmed down. Dick was the one who drew the short straw and had grabbed her as he was the one who gave her the coffee. He ended up needed six stitches as Steph bit him hard and drew blood well Babs hogtied her with some paracord. Babs stitched him up as Steph struggled against her bonds. Surprisingly, the hyper girl had almost escaped the knot when she finally crashed. Crystal had laughed at him when she picked Steph up the next day.
"Orange juice?" Steph tries next with a frown.
"That I can do," Dick says as he pours the girl a glass then sets the food out on the coffee table.
…
A few hours later
…
Barbara woke up to Dick absent, the sounds of the tv, and the smell of coffee in the air. She figured Dick let her sleep in again. She rolled out of bed, put on her glasses, and stepped outside their room to find Dick and Steph riveted on the tv Steph was watching tv upside down with her legs off the back of the couch, something the girl often did. Both were still in their pajamas; however, it was Saturday, so that was fine. Babs recognized the show and even the episode. She quickly poured herself a cup of coffee before announcing that she was up.
"Good morning. You guys did not need to let me sleep in." Babs says with a grin before breaking out laughing.
"GHHHAAAAAAAaaaaa (ophh)" both Dick and Steph jump at the unexpected sound of Babs's voice, with Stephanie falling off the couch. Dick quickly paused the show.
"Good morning, Babs/Aunt Babs." Dick and Steph say from their spot.
"There are chocolate chip pancakes and sausage in the oven staying warm," Dick informs his girlfriend with a smile when their apartment door buzzer goes off. Babs hits the talk button.
"Hello?" Babs says into the intercom.
"Hi, I am a currier with Cranston, Grayson, and Wayne. I have some papers for you." a woman's voice comes from the box. The law firm was one of the oldest in Gotham.
"I will buzz you up," Babs says as she hits the button a few minutes and a tip on where to get pajama shorts. Later, Babs sits on the couch eating her breakfast and watching the cartoon with her boyfriend and the girl. Finishing her meal, she opens the envelop and reads its contents. She paled a bit but was not worried as she figured Crystal was just ensuring Cluemaster would not raise Steph if something happened to her. Then Dick and Babs's phones buzz.
"Oh, fucking shit," Babs exclaims as she reads the displayed words.
Nurse kills Two Rouges.
Agnes Crystal Brown, A 14-year veteran nurse at Gotham West Mercy Hospital, kills The Joker. She also admits to killing her husband Arthur Brown and stuffing him in the freezer...(More)
"Steph, we need to talk," Babs says sadly as Dick pauses the show.
…
"Mama is a hero," Steph says sadly as she finishes crying on Barbara's shoulder. The woman just finished explaining what was going on with her mother.
"Yes, she is, although killing should be the last thing a hero does. I will call my dad and see if we can get more of your stuff later. He might bend the rules for us. Let's continue watching She-ra." Babs says with a sad smile as Dick hits play. The girl cheers up a bit as they enjoy the show. Babs makes a Healthy lunch for them.
…
A few hours later
…
"What is it, Uncle Harvey. Yes, I am babysitting her daughter…No…no, your…I will be there within an hour or two. Goodbye, Uncle Harvey." Babs says sadly, and Dick can quickly tell by the sound of his girlfriend's voice that something is very wrong.
"Steph…your mom, I am sorry, honey, your mom is dead," Babs says with a frown. Crystal was older than her but a good friend to Babs. Dick wraps the two up and lets them cry on his shoulders, shedding a few tears himself. He did not know her as well as the other two, but Crystal quickly became a friend to him.
"I swear on the spirit of my mommy to be a hero who forever spoils the crimes of criminals!" a sad but determined Stephanie Brown says after she finished crying.
"I have to change, so I can go talk to Detective Montoya. She is the one who is investigating Crystal's case. You watch Steph." Barbara says that as she goes to take a shower, she puts in her contacts and puts on a black pants suit.
…
A few hours later, Gotham
…
"Sorry, you have to do this, Babs. However, you could have waited a bit." Harvey Bullock says with a sad look as he leads Babs to the interview room Montoya had requisitioned. He had called Babs personally to inform her that Crystal had been murdered in her cell.
"I want to get this over with," Babs says with a frown.
"Do you want a lawyer?" Harvey asks. He had always looked out for the commissioner's daughter.
"You know I have a law degree Uncle Harvey and am a Police officer with BPD. So I do not need a lawyer," Babs says with a sad smile at the man she considered her uncle.
Babs enters the room to find a beautiful Latina standing five foot eight inches tall she has light brown eyes and long wavy brown hair kept in an elaborate bun at the back of her head. She is dressed in a gray blazer, black slacks, a simple black undershirt, and a pair of brown boots. She has C cups, long toned legs, and a large round booty.
"Hi, Babs, so sorry we hand to call you in like this. I am sorry about your friend." Renee states with a sad look on her face.
"Hi Renee, thank you. Can we get this started?" Babs says sadly as she takes a seat at a table in the room.
"Did Crystal seem strange when she dropped off her daughter this morning?" Renee began asking questions.
Babs would learn crystals throat had been cut clean with a sharp blade.
…
Barbara was leaving the station after dropping in to say hello to her father. She made her way to her Mustang in the parking. Suddenly she chambers a kick and sends it behind her as her foot is caught.
"Nice Kick Miss Gordan." A woman's stern voice comes from behind her.
"So, you're the Batwoman. Nice suit. I like the purple." Babs says as she glares at the woman behind her. The woman before her stood five feet five inches, and her batsuit was amethyst purple and black batsuit. The women's utility belt, gloves, boots, and the inner lining of her cape is purple. Well, the rest was black. The woman's suit also has a long red wig. Seeing it up close was more purple than a red that she saw it up close. The purple bat symbol on her chest was different from the one she used to wear. The ears and head were almost catlike, and the wings were spread out more. God, Bruce must be hiring for looks now as the woman had D cups.
"I heard Crystal Brown was…." The Batwoman says calmly before getting punched in the face, followed by a kick to the ribs as she hit the ground.
"Listen up, Batwoman! You and that fucking psychopath better stay the fuck out of Crystal's case. Because if you do not, I will burn HIM. I do not give a shit if he burns me or makes me look crazy." Babs Spits with a fierce glare.
'Ya smart move Catwoman, you could have worded that a lot better. You need to spend more time with maven your Bats social skills are rubbing off on you.' Batwoman thinks as she gets up.
"Stay down," Babs says. This time Batwoman blocks the kick.
"Carful little girl, I am trying to give you an olive branch, but if you try that again, I start hitting back. SO, I suggest you head back to your own city." Batwoman angrily hisses with a glare.
"Here, I would say I have the advantage, vigilante," Babs says with a devilish grin as they were in GCPD parking's lot, and Batwoman is a known vigilante. If the GCPD finds her attacking the daughter of the commissioner, Batwoman would be arrested.
"We will stay out of the investigation, but…." Batwoman lays Barbara out a hard punch to her solar plexus, a devastating kick to her cheek.
"I do not let anyone talk to me like that… I showed up just to say that I am sorry for your loss as I know Crystal was your friend." Batwoman says and then disappears before Babs gets back up.
"I suddenly realize why daddy always complained about the disappearing act. it really is fucking annoying." Babs says as she gets up and back in her car. She was sure she would have a shiner and would ice her eye when she got home.
…
Bat cave
…
"Mistress Wayne, it seems Master Timothy stole one of master Jason's old Robin suits and aided Master Bruce. Well, you were out. Both are fine. Oh, dear, I shell to get you some ice, I take it Miss Gordon is still angry." Alfred says as Batwoman enters the cave on her bat cycle.
"Good looks like I won our little bet. Thank you, Alfred, that would be helpful. But, yes, she is still miffed off, and I was a bit too much like Bruce when I approached her. So, what's going on with Tim?" Batwoman says with a grin as she pulls down her cowl revealing Selina Wayne Nee Kyle.
"The poor boy's father was killed by Two-face," Alfred says as Selina steps behind the privacy wall. Bruce had installed it when she moved in. As always, Alfred turns around to give her as much privacy as possible.
"Poor kitten, I take it. Bruce wants to ask me if we can take the kid in, which we will. We talked about doing it already when we brought him to the cave, so it's not too much of a surprise. So where are they?" Selina says as she emerged dressed in gray yoga pants with a purple stripe and a matching gray pullover hoody. She also slipped on her kitty slippers.
With that, the two left the cave.
…
Back in Blüdhaven
…
Steph gave a sad grin as she hid the exciting items she found just lying around in her new home…well, actually, she found a hidden Butten, pressed it, and found what she had suspected for a long time. She tucked them under what was likely going to be her mattress. This will help her to get the training she needs to fulfill her vow. She then went to take a shower then changed into some clean pajamas. That's when Babs got home.
"What happened to your face?" Steph asks with an I am so innocent smile.
"Got hit leaving the police station. So where is Dick?" Babs says with a sad smile as she goes and grabs the frozen bag of peas they keep for moments like this and puts it to her bruised face.
"Ric fell asleep half an hour ago on the couch. I covered him with a blanket and put a pillow under his head." Steph says as she points to the couch with a proud smile on her face. Steph had considered slipping some sleeping pills into his orange juice to help him along with sleep like she saw in movies, but Babs and Ric did not have sleeping pills.
"Well, it's late, it's been a bad day for you, and we should let Dick sleep, so do you want to spend the night with me?" Babs asks with sassy care in her voice. Steph just nods sadly, Babs gets changed, and the two get some sleep.
…
Almost a week later
…
"Steph's asleep. God, that was so annoyingly complex. I mean, Steph got into good old Gotham Academy on her own IQ, but the paperwork, dear god, the paperwork, we did not have to file that much paperwork when we 'smelled smoke' outside that warehouse with the massive drug lab. God, l am glad we installed that massive security system. I need to punch some street crime." Babs dressed in a gray pants suit, says with a groan.
It was such a waste of paper that could be used for glorious books. That all could have been digitized and done faster. Dick and Babs wanted their new daughter/ward to go to their old school as it was the best in the state and one of the top five in the country. With the selling of Dicks shares of WE stock and the wise investments they made with the money, they had more than enough to pay the tuition many times over. Thankfully it was halfway between Blüdhaven and Gotham, so they would be able to drop her there every day.
"Well, I will stay in case Steph has a nightmare. Go punch out some crime." Dick says with a smile as he removes his black suit jacket. The pair make their way to the hidden button on the intercom and press it. It reveals their costumes, weapons, and gear.
"Babs…where are our masks?" Dick asks when he sees that all their masks are missing.
…
"(Yawn) You mean these?" Steph says with a tired evil grin on her face which has one of Dicks domino masks on it. In her arms are the rest of Dicks Domino masks and Bab's larger pointed masks. (think her last mask from Babs most recent costume in the comics). She had wanted to wear one of Babs's cooler masks; however, Babs lenses were prescription and made her head hurt. The masks were, however, super cool with all their vision modes. There was even a time function. The adults freeze at the sight of the masked ten-year-old.
"What do you want for us to keep quiet? Babs, don't glare at me like that. She has all of our masks." Dick says with a defeated frown as he removes his tie.
"Train me so I can spoil the crimes of all criminals!" the girl exclaims with a victorious grin.
"There will be rules, and you do not go out till we feel you're ready to go out. Dick, I am going to go track down Double Dare." Babs says as she grabs her mask from Steph.
"(Yawn) Who is Double Dare?" Steph asks with a curious look.
"Two bimbo acrobat thieves who can't keep their hands to themself. Feel up, my man. Little do they know I have been saving them for a bad day. I am going to shove an Eskrima stick up each of their fat asses. Heaven helps Tarantula when I run into that fucking bimbo first or second." Babs snarls as she finishes stripping out of her suit and starts getting into her Oracle suit (her latest costume in the comics.)
"Who is Tarantula? Why does it sound like Aunt Babs wants to impale her on a stake like Vlade the Impaler after kicking the poop out of her." Steph asks as Dick blushed.
"She…flirts with me often…." Dick starts the say his face red as his old tunic when Babs interrupts him.
"The fucking Latina bimbo shoved her fucking tongue down your throat and tried to shove her hand on your you in front of me two months after we got back together, and I started working in Haven. She is lucky she only got away with a broken nose. I am bringing extra sticks on patrol." Babs says as she grabs four telescoping Eskrima sticks from the armory along with her utility belt and goes out the window.
"Well, at least she did not take the stun batons… it's not going to be a fun night for Double Dare and Tarantula when Babs finds them." Dick says with a frown.
"Don't ya mean if Ric?" Steph asks with a confused look.
"No, I mean when. Come on, let's get you back to bed." Dick says with a smile as he takes his ward by the hand and takes her back to her room. They planed on painting it eggplant purple in the morning.
…
To be continued
…