"I mean…who does he think he is?!"

"Batman."

"… That's not funny."

"Got you to stop your current rant."

"…"

"Oh, come on…you're not mad at me now?"

"…"

"Fine. Ya big baby. I guess this means you wouldn't be interested in working out some frustrations on some thugs wreaking havoc down near the river?"

"…where, exactly, did you say they were?"

"I didn't. I was waiting for an apology."

"Heh. Fine. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"…um…for…"

"Oh for…ok repeat after me. I'm sorry…"

"I'm sorry…"

"for being a thick-headed oaf…"

"for being…hey!"

"a thick-headed oaf…come on…"

"You are going to pay for this."

"I hope so."

"sigh…a mumblemumble"

"Not good enough, twenty-something wonder!"

"A thick-headed oaf…"

"See, that wasn't so hard! Now where was I…oh yeah…who let my anger get the better of me…"

"who let my anger get the better of me…"

"so that I couldn't calm down and let my incredibly intelligent girlfriend…"

"so that I couldn't calm down and let my incredibly intelligent, gorgeous, sexy, ho…"

"Stick to the script, Romeo."

"…girlfriend…"

"tell me where the nice punks are hiding so I can go beat them up."

"tell me where the nice punks are hiding so I can go beat them up. Now…please tell me?""Ha! Ok, down by the cannery…they're busting up equipment and basically just having a grand old time."

"Great! Sounds like I need to join the party."

"Did I mention that they look a little…out of it…if you know what I mean?"

"…I don't think…"

"Never stopped you before."

"Ha ha. He's not going to like…"

"So? All you heard was there was a break in…once there, did he really expect you to just walk away?"

"……you're the best."

"I know."


The plan was put into action…they had followed the last of the released victims from the hospital. They had almost missed him, too. After taking time out to tend Batgirl's headache and explain Robin's theories, they had discovered that two of the remaining patients had already been released. Like Robin had pointed out…not a foolproof plan.

But they had managed to watch the last patient released; a homeless man with no family to pick him up. He kind of wandered aimlessly for a few minutes…long enough for Robin to begin to doubt that Joker was really behind the mind controlled mob. As they crouched on an overhang, watching the man idly shuffling along the sidewalk, Robin spoke up.

"I don't think this is…"

"Is too." Ok… he sighed. There were many reasons that Cassandra had been chosen as Batgirl. But right now, he wasn't sure if stubbornness was one of them. Tenacity would be an asset when tracking down a villain or training for hours a day. But if she was wrong, they were wasting a lot of time. Some of this thought must have been visible in his stance, though he didn't think he had moved a whole lot, as she sighed and continued, "He is moving like the others."

"But he's not doing anything." She shrugged at his protest and he wished, not for the first time, that she would be a little more communicative. After all, he couldn't read people. Realizing his thoughts were beginning to sound sulky…and with his luck Batgirl would notice that, too…he quickly put the thoughts from his head.

Luckily for Robin's sanity, the man they were tailing did something…unusual just about then. Instead of continuing on his meandering route he seemed to straighten a bit and moved purposefully towards a nearby pawn shop. Without any hesitation…in fact, without any indication that the man realized that there were people on the sidewalk and street who could see what he was doing and may try to stop him…he quite calmly broke into the store.

"What the…" Robin knew that they were attempting to follow him back to Joker's lair. So it was not the natural inclination to foil a robbery, which he was fighting, that caused his outburst. Rather it was the fact that the man they were following was a vagrant…a homeless man, with very little substance to his person. In truth, there was no way he should have been able to break down the locked and barred door guarding the entrance to the pawn shop. It should have been difficult, if not impossible, for even a healthy, in-shape, body-builder…the whole purpose of the door was to keep intruders out. Yet this scrawny fellow had busted in like he was Superman, not even flinching at the impact.

"Come on." Batgirl tugged on his arm and he glanced at her, confused for a moment. She didn't wait for him but took off across the rooftop. As the shock of the man's feat began to wear off, Robin realized what she had in mind. There was undoubtedly a back door to the shop, leading into the alley nearby, and she had decided that that was the route the thief would take.

Robin fell in behind her. In this case, she was undoubtedly the better leader. He had been momentarily stunned into inaction while she had probably seen the man's intent and anticipated it, leaving no reason for her to hesitate.

For her part, Batgirl didn't stop to think about the man's strength or the how or why of any of it. She was still fighting the pain in her head, and hating herself for it. She could take multiple bullets without flinching…so why was this pain hindering her? Robin didn't seem surprised, though she knew he had never really understood how intense her training had been when she was younger.

The problem was, her strengths were all physical…speed, agility, natural ability to fight. Not to mention the body-reading. But though Robin's talents were more mental…meaning she should trust him when he told her the Joker wouldn't get inside her head…she was finding it difficult, if not impossible, to really believe. She alone could see how the victims of Joker's gas were under his control. No one else knew, as she did, that the people were, in a way, sleeping…yet they were not. There was a consciousness there, one other than the controller's. Each mind-controlled agent was aware on some level of what they were doing, and usually fighting against it.

It was very subtle, to be sure. But she couldn't help worrying about Robin's words. The pain in her head…caused by Joker's gas. Maybe her brain was different…or maybe all the victims had had really bad headaches right before falling under the madman's control. Maybe she would turn any second…unleashing her own talents on the young man beside her. Maybe…maybe….she fought a wave of nausea that she wasn't entirely sure came from the headache.

Maybe she would kill him.


To be continued…