Disclaimer: All characters (except Julia, Danny, Miyax, and Kitty) are not owned by me and are used without permission solely for the entertainment of fan-fiction readers. Please read and review.
Chapter 7: Batgirl Returns
D'Antonette's
I landed in a heap of rubble and broken glass. Jeeze, what happened here? All the jewelry was still in place out in the store, but there was one gapping hole in the wall were the safe had once stood. That's what happens when you wanna stick to the old-fashioned ways. That safe must have been like fifty years old. Modern safes were much more resistant to explosives. There were no signs of Batman or Catwoman.
"Batman is in pursuit of Catwoman. They are heading downtown towards the old highway. They will be in the outskirts of the city soon"
"What's out there?" I asked.
"An old landfill, the Gotham Cemetery, a few Manors, and a couple abandoned warehouses"
I had read about the old Catwoman, Selina Kyle and was familiar with her MO.
"Tell me about the warehouses"
"An old gum factory, storage warehouse, Wayne Enterprises Warehouses, FoxTech Warehouses, and Government warehouses"
"What is the storage warehouse for?"
"It used to be the storage warehouse for a canning company"
"The name Kitty, the name"
"Smiley Cat Food"
Bingo!
"That's where she's heading. I'm going to go see if I can beat them there"
"Copy. Take 32nd street and then Albany
Avenue, which should lead you right to the edge of Grant Park. Next
to an old barbershop, there's a narrow road, Jefferson Lane. Take it
and it will take you right to the old highway. After that, it's about
ten to fifteen miles to the warehouse. You should be able to get
there in less than ten minutes"
"Thanks Kitty"
I was on my bike and on my way.
Smiley Cat Food Warehouse
I drove my bike down a dirt road off the old highway in the outskirts of Gotham City. Thick woods surrounded me, blocking my view of the warehouse. I couldn't see farther than ten feet in front of me.
I heard something move nearby. I jumped off my bike and ran into the trees. I stopped and crouched down, waiting. A shadow passed by me. I tackled it. A surprised grunt came from the person and just as I was about to cream them, I realized that I had just attacked Batman. I froze; my fist only inches from his face.
"Batman?" I whispered loudly.
"Uh, YEAH and could you get OFF me?" he said.
I scrambled off him and jumped to my feet. He stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. I guess I hit him pretty hard.
"I thought you were Catwoman", I said.
"Well obviously I'm not", he said sarcastically.
We both felt pretty awkward and our eyes turned to the woods looming ahead of us.
"There's an old warehouse about a mile or so up that path", Batman pointed out.
"I know. Smiley Cat Food canning factory. They turned it into a warehouse later", I replied.
"How did you know that? And how did you know she would lead us here?" asked Batman curiously.
I smiled, "I have a contact that keeps me informed. And I knew that Catwoman would lead us here because I KNOW her MO and it was the obvious choice. I really doubt she would have gone to the Cemetery or the old landfill"
"What contact?" Batman asked suspiciously.
I laughed, "Take it easy Bats. Her name is Oracle and she's got state of the art equipment. I'm the first to have the pleasure of her services", I stated, taking my big chance.
"Oracle huh?"
Good, he seems interested
"You want to meet her?" I asked excitedly.
"What do you mean, meet her?" Batman asked.
I took out the pocket computer I had brought with me and handed it to Batman. He looked at it curiously. I reached over and turned it on. Sure enough, Kitty's face appeared on the screen.
"Good evening Batman", said Kitty.
"You're the Oracle?" Batman asked.
Kitty smiled, "Yes. I can grant you access to any information about pretty much anything you could ever need info about"
"Sounds schway", replied Batman.
"Extremely", I added.
"How do I know you're for real?" asked Batman.
"Ah, I hoped you would ask that! All right then . . . ask me anything right now. Anything you wish to know" Kitty said.
Batman thought for a moment, "How much does hot chili cost at Dino's?"
"That's your question?" I asked him.
"50 credits", answered Kitty.
"How long does it take to get from Dino's to Cheesy Dan's?" asked Batman.
"Fifteen minutes if you take Central Avenue, eleven if you take Thirty Second Street, and five if you take the alley behind Jackie's Diner", Kitty replied automatically.
Batman raised an eyebrow. Ha! He didn't know about the alley behind Jackie's Diner!
"Who is the head of the Jokerz gang?"
"J-man"
"Who is Inque?"
"Inque is a shape-shifter, the result of a clandestine genetic experiment. She has the ability to change from her natural human form to a semi-liquid state. She can slip through even the smallest crack, making her highly difficult to capture. She can also mimic any object, making her highly dangerous as well. Inque physical abilities have made her the perfect saboteur for hire. She is quite popular with Interpol, she has been added to their most wanted files"
"Impressive", said Batman.
"Told you she could tell you anything you wanted", I said proudly.
"Could I keep this?" asked Batman.
"Of course", I said.
Any attempts he made to try and trace me from the program on that computer would be useless because I always covered my tracks. Always.
He tucked the computer into his suit.
"Let's head out", he said.
We started walking towards the warehouse. After a few minutes of walking, I started to observe Batman. He seemed very capable with his muscular build and strong legs. He wasn't much taller than me, but the way he held himself, it was like if her were ten feet taller than everyone. I continued to observe him when I noticed that he was muttering to himself. Why was he muttering to himself? I cocked my head curiously. I walked a little closer to him to see if I could overhear something.
". . . she's reliable . . . told you, I saw this Oracle for myself and she seems for real . . . let's give her a chance . . . no I don't know anything about the warehouse . . . should ask Oracle . . . fine!"
I only caught parts of it, but to me it really seemed like he was talking to someone. Of course! I should have known that Bats wasn't working solo. He seemed way too young to be BATMAN. After seeing him fight up close, I had come to the conclusion that he was not that tough or experienced like I would have thought he would be. This guy was definitely a rookie and I would bet my life that whoever he was talking to was the man who really WAS Batman.
"Hey Bats, how much further?"
"Just a quarter of a mile"
"Really? Did the voices in your head tell you that?" I snickered.
I had made my move. Now it was up to them.
Batman stopped dead in his tracks.
"How did you . . . ", he started.
"Bats, I'm an observant person. I notice things. And you talking to yourself is something that's not that hard to miss"
"Look, it's not what it seems. I'm not crazy or anything", Batman said in an attempt to explain.
I raised a hand to silence him, "I KNOW. You should listen to the old man though. You shouldn't trust strange women in Kevlar until you CAN trust them".
Batman's jaw dropped a bit, "How did you . . . "
I laughed, "I told you, I'm an observant person. Besides, I doubt you were the one who used to tackle with the likes of the Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, and the Riddler back in the day!"
Batman just stared at me. Then, he turned to listen to 'the voice'. He turned back to face me.
"He says you've done your homework"
"My mother was a fan"
"Oh"
"You don't know anything about Batman's past or his legacy, do you?"
"Not really"
"You should ask him to tell you about it. You're missing out on some schway stuff"
Batman didn't say anything. He continued walking towards the warehouse. I ran up behind him and walked at his side. After a few minutes we had arrived at our destination. The old warehouse was made out of concrete. I shook my head. Who used concrete anymore? There were several broken windows and the place was overall pretty dark and creepy. Not exactly somewhere I would want to go, but hey, you gotta put up with certain things being a vigilante. This was one of them.
"We going to go in or what?" I asked Batman.
Batman turned to me. That was when I spotted Catwoman's 'pet' crouching right behind him. I lunged at him and tackled him to the ground. Isis pounced right on the spot we had just been standing at. We rolled into some bushes and I jumped up right away, pulling Batman behind.
"Common! Run!" I shouted at him.
I ran as fast as I could, Batman behind me. We ran right up to the warehouse and hid behind the corner of the wall. We stood there catching our breaths a few seconds. I raised my head to Batman.
"So, what's the game plan Bats?"
"You stay here as lookout and backup while I find Catwoman", said Batman,
"So, in other words, YOU get to have all the fun", I growled. This was not what I had in mind.
"Good, so you understand", Batman answered.
I glared at him.
Batman just turned around and crawled away. I looked after him angrily. No way was I just going to sit here doing nothing! I crawled off in another direction.
I climbed up some metal stairs to a catwalk high above the ground level. I heard voices coming from a room up ahead and crept in that direction, keeping to the shadows.
Once I got there, I took in every detail of the scene. In the middle of the room was a large pit. My eyes widened when I identified the occupants of that pit as two huge snow-white Siberian Tigers. Weren't they extinct? There were six guards posted at different locations. Catwoman was feeding the two beasts chunks of raw meat. Then, I spotted Batman creeping up towards her.
Great . . . Batboy here is about to screw up big time
Catwoman had her back to him, but I saw her sniff the air and grin. She knew he was there.
"So glad you could join us, Batman", she said loudly.
Batman jumped back in surprise. Catwoman whipped around to face him. Two of her henchmen grabbed him from behind. One hit him over the back of his head, knocking him out. The other dragged him towards the pit.
Nice going Bats. Now I got to save you
Catwoman walked over to Batman to stroke his chest and then his masked face. The henchmen held him while she removed his belt and then kissed him on the mouth.
I watched in shock as the men beat Batman up and then threw his battered body into the pit. I was blazing with anger, but held my ground, waiting for the right moment. I continued watching as Catwoman set down a bomb in the corner and then walked back up to the pit, Isis at her heels.
"It's a real shame that I must dispose of you so soon, but you'll just get in my way again.
She blew the groaning Batman a kiss before exiting the premises. My moment had come. Time to show them what I can do. I flipped on my camouflage and jumped down to the ground. I looked around to check the thugs' positions, formulated my plan and turned off the suit's camouflage. The thugs looked shocked at my presence.
"Time to dance boys", I shouted in a mocking voice.
I broke into a run and jumped, soaring over the first guy. I landed behind him and sent a kick into his back. He fell to his knees, but surprisingly recovered and whipped around, grabbing my cape. Definitely not a good move. He pulled me down to my hands and knees by pulling the cape. I shifted my weight forward to my hands and went into a handstand, using my legs to kick the guy in the chest. He fell back, giving me time to flip to my feet and execute a perfect roundhouse kick to his face, knocking him out.
That was one down, five to go
I dodged a punch from the next guy and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. He cried out in pain and dropped to one knee. He elbowed me in the stomach, causing me to let go of his arm. He turned to me and raised an arm to strike. But I did a back flip, landing in a crouch, then uppercut the guy below the jaw. He fell unconscious to the ground.
Only four baddies left
I ran forward and somersaulted in the air, landing on a crate. Two more thugs came at me. I kicked one neatly in the face and flipped over the other and onto the ground. I crouched low and tripped the man from behind. He fell forward and hit his head on the crate. He lay on the ground unconscious next to his co-worker.
Now there was only one guy left
Somehow, the guy had found a lead pipe since I had last seen him. I dodged several blows from the pipe before he finally hit his target. I sucked in the pain throbbing from my side and managed to punch the guy in the stomach. He doubled over, dropping the lead pipe. I gabbed him and kneed him in the face. He fell backwards to the ground. I took a few seconds to admire my handy work.
Wait a second. One, two, three, four, five. Five? Weren't there six of them? Crap
I smiled as I heard the last thug approaching me from behind. He was a noisy one. I could hear every step as he tried to sneak up on me. When he was right behind me, I threw a punch over my left shoulder. By the sound that followed, I guessed I had broken his nose. That's what he got for trying to sneak up on me. I turned around to see the wimp had been knocked out as well. Pathetic. I remembered about Batman and rushed over to the pit.
While I had been busy with Catwoman's henchmen, Batman had been busy with the pair of tigers that were in the pit with him. He was sore from the beating the henchmen had given him, but he was still able to defend himself. He had taken care of one tiger with a calculated kick to the head. But, the other had pinned him to the ground. Batman could see the tiger's teeth inches from his face and closed his eyes, awaiting his doom. After nothing happened after a minute or two, Batman slowly opened one eye to see me with my arms wrapped around the tiger's throat, slowly choking it.
"Mind giving me a hand Bats?" I asked in a strained voice.
Batman quickly slid from underneath the tiger and helped me bring it to the ground. I took out a tranquilizer from my utility belt and injected it into the tiger's hind leg. Once the cat drifted off into a drugged sleep, I let out a sigh of relief. We both sat down and leaned against the wall of the pit. Then remembering the important fact that there was still a BOMB to worry about, I shot up to my feet.
"We have to go NOW!" I shouted at Batman.
"Why?" Batman asked in a tired voice.
"Catwoman wired the place with explosives!"
"WHAT!"
Batman opened his wings and grabbed me. He lifted me out of the pit and dropped to the ground. We ran to the huge metal door marked EXIT, but it was locked. Oh god, they were ALL locked. Why hadn't I learned how to pick antique locks? I kneeled by the bomb and studied it.
"We still have five minutes left" I said, handing Batman his belt, which had been hanging by the bomb.
Batman put on his belt before starting to pace the room. His eyes fell on the pit. He turned to me, a triumphant look on his face.
"We can wait in the pit until the explosion passes! Common, help me lower these guys into it"
We started to carry all the henchmen over to the pit. They were all still unconscious, so it wasn't an easy task. We lowered them all into the pit. I went back to the bomb, after only a glance and backed away from it. I turn and ran towards Batman.
"ONLY THIRTY SECONDS LEFT!" I shouted.
Batman and I ran towards the pit. I was having a little trouble running after the hit I had taken to my side. Batman noticed this and picked me up in one sweeping motion. He's done this before. He continued running to the pit. Just as we were jumping down into it, the bomb went off behind us. The force of the blast sent us both flying into the pit. When the dust and smoke settled, there was hardly anything left of the warehouse. But the pit was still intact. It had shielded us from the worst of the explosion, but Batman and I lay unconscious inside it.
A few minutes later
I opened my eyes and groaned as I sat up and tried to get my bearings. I looked around myself and saw Batman lying on the ground close by. I crawled over to him and placed a shaky hand on his neck to check for a pulse. I sighed in relief when I felt a strong pulse beneath my fingertips. I gently shook him to wake him up. Batman's eyes slowly opened and I helped him sit up.
I flashed him a grin, "Look like we made it! You all right Batboy?"
Batman smirked at me, "Do I detect some concern in your voice Batgirl?"
"Don't get your hopes up", I said with a laugh.
- - - - - -
I stood by my bike as Batman informed our position to the police. I was quite content with how the night had turned out. Pretty damn good for an 'amateur'. The only thing that dampened my good mood was that Catwoman had gotten away.
I smiled as I saw Batman arguing with the old man yet again. He seemed to rely a lot of his mentor, even though he was pretty capable of handling things on his own. I had been quick to judge Batman, but now I could see the potential the old guy saw in him. But since I didn't know how things were between those two, I thought it better not to mention it to Batboy.
"So when do I get to meet THE BATMAN, Batboy?" I asked when he was done talking.
"Give him some time. He's not very good with partners. It was hard enough convincing him to let ME become Batman. It's not like he's had the best experiences with young protégés either", Batman explained.
"Oh, I wasn't serious. I don't expect to meet him at all. I mean, I would really like to meet him, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I know I have to earn his trust first. I bet Robin had it pretty rough".
"Yeah, I bet he did", Batman said thoughtfully.
"Well I guess I better head home. It's almost dawn. I suggest you get some sleep Bats", I said.
"And where would 'home' be?" he asked.
"Like I'd tell you where I live. I like being the mysterious girl who shows up just in time to save your ass. It's much more fun", I laughed.
I mounted my bike, "Don't worry Bats, the old man will probably figure it out before I tell you anyways. See you around!"
I drove down the road that led back to Gotham. I loved the feel of the wind in my face. I felt like I could do anything, like I was on top of the world. And it felt damn good!
- - - - - -
Terry stood in the hallway of the Science building at GSU. He was leaning against the wall, watching people pass by. He was thinking of Batgirl. Who was she? She was obviously very good at what she did. Better than him. He admired her skills, but he wondered what led her to choose a vigilante's life. He had chosen it to deal with the pain of his father's death. And now. well now he choose it because it had become his destiny. He had once thought that he would never do anything significant or accomplish anything in his life. But now, now he was a hero. He didn't care nobody else knew it. He knew it and that was enough for him.
Terry's eyes narrowed at the guy passing him. He was wearing a jacket with the initials GSU embroidered on it. A jock. But not just any jock, Jack Fox was THE JOCK. He was heir to the FoxTech empire and was the 'big man on campus'. Yeah, they still say that. Terry had thought that Nelson Nash had been bad enough. Well, this guy was way worse.
Jack was walking down the hall with his fellow jocks, when I walked by. I had on a pair of baggy jeans and a tight fitting red t-shirt. My hair was in a ponytail and my trademark glasses were low on the bridge of my nose. Jack and his gang snickered as I passed.
"There goes that geek Alvarez. She could use a make-over from your girl Victoria", they said among similar comments. They didn't even have the decency to lower their voices. Several people stopped to stare or join in their laughter.
My blood was boiling, but I was not about to make a scene here in the hallway. Besides, I had to keep a low profile. I didn't want any unnecessary attention. Jack was just what I liked to call a first class jerk. I simply ignored them and kept on walking.
"Hey geek girl!" shouted one of them.
I kept on walking.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" he shouted.
I ignored him.
He ran up by me and blocked my path. I stopped and glared at him. "Get out of my way", I said icily.
"Why don't you make me, Sugar", he said.
That did it. I pushed past him.
"Why you little . . . "
He never finished his sentence, because when he had gone to grab my arm, I had whirled around and punched him square in the face. He grabbed him nose with both hands and ran towards the bathroom. Several people clapped and cheered. Other simply stopped and stared at me. I just continued on my way. Jack and the rest of his gang stared after me.
Terry watched in shock as I passed by him. That's the L.A. girl . . . guess she's tougher than she let's on. Ha, it was about time someone showed those losers! He glanced at his watch. He was late for Calculus.
"Slag it!" he said running down the hall.
- - - - - -
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