Chapter Twelve
Commissioner Gordon sat in the living room of his daughter's apartment, nursing a cup of coffee.
"He'll survive, for now," Gordon said, referring to Blockbuster. He'd just finished giving Barbara a rundown on the events of the previous day. "None of his wounds were life-threatening, but is brain is almost gone. The chemicals he used to turn himself into Blockbuster have destroyed his mind. The doctors said he was probably suffering from dementia and memory loss before he was brought in. They doubt he'll ever regain consciousness."
"Isn't that what killed his older brother, the first Blockbuster?" Barbara asked.
Gordon nodded. He paused before asking, "Did you ever know this woman, Libby Kanly?"
"The name doesn't ring a bell."
Gordon stood up and began pacing, his eyes focused upward. Barbara recognized it as his way of slipping into "official" mode; trying to gather his thoughts in order to ask the right questions, give the right information. He paused long enough o start talking before the pacing resumed.
"We received a package at headquarters this morning with some strange information. In it was proof, of a sort, that Libby Kanly was in fact Selina Kyle, Catwoman. I know you'd had dealings with Catwoman…before…and was wondering if you knew about any of this?"
Barbara shook her head. Gordon continued.
"We couldn't confirm anything. When we tried, we found all records of Catwoman had disappeared, including hard copies. The only thing we did have was a twenty year old faded newspaper article of one arrest that an officer's wife had in her scrapbook. It was still inconclusive. That's one of the reasons I kept this information out of the official report and from the press."
"Dad, I have to ask, why are you telling me all of this?"
"Because you're involved in this up to you neck," he answered. Her surprise was evident. "Barbara, are you still involved with any of this superhero business?"
"Dad," she said, motioning to indicate her legs, "I'm in a wheelchair."
"Not really an answer," he said, "But I'll take it." He handed Barbara a file folder.
"What's this" she asked.
"The other reason I suppressed the information relating to Miss Kanly's real identity. Those are papers concerning her daughter, Helena. In the event of her death, she named you Helena's legal guardian."
Barbara's eyes widened with shock.
"Congratulations, Barbara. You're a mother."
End of Episode One