"Hi Bruce," said Dick as he trotted down the stairs into the batcave, "Alfred said you wanted to see me?"
"Yes," said Bruce, not turning away from his enormous supercomputer, "I have a lead on Killer Moth."
"Oh goodie."
Killer Moth was the name of one of the bigger independent arms dealers in Gotham. Recently he had taken to dressing up in a costume and distributing weapons that were more and more spectacular in nature. Most recently he had introduced a wrist-mounted sprayer that released a poisonous gas. Batman and Robin had found it in the hands of a few criminals in Gotham and were trying to stop the weapon at its source.
"I've narrowed down our list of suspects," said Bruce as Dick approached him, "Killer Moth is one of these men."
Several faces came up on the giant monitor in front of them. Each face had a name under it. There were roughly a dozen different suspects up there. Dick was impressed, but not surprised, that Bruce had narrowed down an entire city of potential suspects to just twelve men.
"Most of them are affiliated with one of the major crime families," explained Bruce, highlighting most of the faces on the monitor, "I'm going undercover at the Iceberg to learn more about them."
"Where do you need me?" asked Dick.
"This last suspect," said Bruce, highlighting the only other remaining face, "His name is Drury Walker."
"Who's he?" asked Dick, "A mercenary? Ex-military?"
"He's a student at Gotham University," said Bruce.
"...you want me to go undercover as a college student?" clarified Dick.
"He's a forensic psychology student," explained Bruce, "You're going to have to create an identity of someone in the same department."
"And what, pass him a note during class?" asked Dick.
"No," said Bruce, "You'll have to talk to him at a social gathering."
"A social gathering?"
"One of the other forensic psychology students is throwing a costume party this weekend," explained Bruce, "You are to attend and learn what you can.
"A costume party?" said Dick, raising an eyebrow, "You can't be serious."
Bruce turned away from the monitor to stare at Dick blankly. Dick sighed.
"I'll start putting together my character background," said Dick as he turned to leave.
"Don't forget your costume," said Bruce tonelessly as he turned back to his computer.
Dick knocked on the apartment door. He felt ridiculous. Bruce had left Dick's costume for him in his bedroom. It consisted of baggy torn up jeans, a multicolor tie dye shirt, a silver peace symbol necklace, and orange tinted sunglasses. He was a hippie.
While in actuality Bruce Wayne supported numerous liberal and leftist causes with anonymous donations, publicly he purported to hate the hippie movement and every contemporary movement that represented it. Dressing Dick up like one was just another way of diverting people from suspecting he was connected to Bruce in any way. That or it was just a joke. It was hard to tell with Bruce sometimes.
The door opened as a man in an Elvis costume looked Dick up and down.'
"Do I know you?" he asked.
"Scott Dixon," said Dick, "I'm a transfer student from Metropolis U's forensics program."
"Alright," shrugged the man in the Elvis costume, "Come on in."
Dick walked into the crowded apartment and looked around. Dozens of students in different costumes holding red solo cups filled the hot, stuffy room. It seemed like a standard college party, at least based on what Dick understood from pop culture. He had received all of his education from either private tutors or Bruce personally, mostly pertaining to the skills needed to be a vigilante. He had not, however, ever had an actual college experience.
Dick kept his eyes peeled for Drury Walker. The man had a pretty distinctive face, one Dick had memorized before setting out on the mission. Sure enough, within a few minutes of searching he found him. Despite being a student, Drury had an older-looking face with a strong jawline and a set of beady eyes obscured by a pair of oversized glasses. He was joking around with several of the other students. Dick kept an eye on him from a distance.
"You mind?"
"Hm?"
"You're blocking the drinks."
"Oh, sorry."
Dick turned to see the woman speaking to him. She was a short woman dressed entirely in black, including a cape and cowl worn over her face, though her orange hair hung loosely out the back. Her black costume included yellow gloves, yellow boots, a yellow belt, and a large yellow Batman symbol on her chest.
"...nice costume," said Dick with extremely mixed feelings.
The tight black clothes shaped her body and the way the belt hung loosely off her hips brought to mind imaginations of what her butt looked like in those pants. Dick was turned on, there was no question about it. Given that she was dressed like his father figure though, he felt incredibly weird about it.
"Thanks," said the woman, "You going to move?"
"Oh, right."
Dick stepped aside and let the woman have access to the table of alcohol and mixers. She didn't seem to pay him any mind as she put a drink together for herself. Dick did his best not to look at her rear end as she leaned over the table to do so.
"I don't recognize you," she said, sipping her drink, "You new to the department?"
"Yeah," said Dick after a short pause, "Yes, I just transferred from Metropolis U."
"Metropolis, huh?" said the woman, "I've always wanted to visit."
"Eh," shrugged Dick, "I got homesick for Gotham. It's just not the same walking home without being held up and mugged."
The woman chuckled. Dick smiled. He could be charming when he tried. He glanced at Drury out of the corner of his eye, seeing that he was still just partying as usual.
I can flirt a bit, right? thought Dick, After all, I'm supposed to be blending in.
"I'm Barbara," said the woman, holding out her hand.
"Good thing you told me," said Dick, shaking her hand, "Otherwise I'd just have to call you Bat Girl."
"And I'd call you Woodstock Boy."
Dick coughed uncomfortably. He forgot he was wearing a hippie costume. He immediately felt embarrassed by it.
"If you like," smiled Dick, "Or you could just call me Scott."
"What do you think of the department, Scott?"
"I'm still getting used to it," said Dick, "Professor Beatty could stand to dial back the research assignments though."
Dick had done his research. He knew just about everything he needed to know about the forensics department to convince anyone that he was a student there.
"I don't know," shrugged Barbara, "I kind of appreciate it."
"Oh, so you're a nerd?" chuckled Dick.
Barbara mimed pushing glasses up her nose. They both laughed.
"Let's just say I've gotten my share of wedgies in my day," said Barbara.
"Maybe you should've stopped asking the teachers for more homework."
"Shut up," smiled Barbara, giving Dick a playful shove in the shoulder, "This coming from a guy who looks like he's never gotten a wedgie in his life."
"Oh, you'd be surprised."
"I guess it happens to the best of us."
"So you must be a fan of Batman, huh?" said Dick, "To put together a costume based on him?"
"To be honest," said Barbara, "I mostly went with this costume to spite my dad."
"Yeah?" said Dick, "How so?"
"My dad is James Gordon," said Barbara quietly, "Yes, that James Gordon."
"You're kidding. The police commissioner?"
"I'm not gonna narc on anyone," assured Barbara, "I promise."
"You sure?" smiled Dick, "You're not going to put me in bat-cuffs and take me away?"
"Well, not unless you want me to."
Dick saw the hint of a smile on Barbara's face break into a grin. He grinned back. Though he had been trained to act any part and by extension be charming, he had spent most of his life training to be Robin. He had never actually flirted with someone with the intent to get something out of it. He had only kissed as part of an act for missions. He had never actually had sex. This was exhilarating.
Dick removed his tinted sunglasses as Barbara stepped closer. She placed her hands on his chest and walked up to him until she was completely up against him. Dick felt a rush of warm energy as he grew hard and his heart rate grew faster. He couldn't believe it. He was going to kiss someone he wanted to for once.
That's when Dick remembered why he was there. He peered over Barbara's head, a feat made easy by her small stature, and caught sight of Drury Walker. He was slowly making his way to the apartment's exit, slipping out without so much as a goodbye to anyone.
Shoot, thought Dick.
"I'm sorry," he said, gently pushing Barbara back, "I have to go."
Dick, forcing himself not to look back, went right for the exit as well. This woman was beautiful and seemed to like him, but he couldn't let himself get distracted. He was here to take care of Drury and he had to focus on that. The safety of Gotham came first, before Dick's longing for sex and affection.
Robin peered around the corner of the pullar, watching Drury sort through the contents of his trunk. Robin had managed to change out of his disguise and into his normal costume during Drury's brief detour at a campus bathroom. Robin had tracked him to the parking garage. Now he was watching for evidence that this man might be Killer Moth.
Drury continued to sort through the trunk, looking back and forth before grabbing an armful of supplies and getting into the back seat of the car. Robin pulled a small scope out of his utility belt and got a closer look. Drury appeared to be changing in the car. Robin had found it strange that he hadn't been wearing a costume at the party. Was he maybe just changing for that?
Drury emerged in a bull body purple jumpsuit with large moth wings on the back and a silver mask with antennae on top.
Nope, thought Robin, That's definitely him!
Killer Moth returned to his trunk and pulled out a large gun. Robin had to act now. Killer Moth could be planning any sort of violence with that weapon. Robin whipped a batarang at him. The batarang struck him in the back and stuck there. To Robin's surprise, Killer Moth turned around unharmed.
"Oh boy," muttered Robin.
Killer Moth fired. The gun fired bullets at the rate of a machine gun, forcing Robin to leap back behind the pillar. Bullets ricocheted as bits of concrete and dust spat out everywhere.
This was bad. Robin thought that batarang would immobilize him, but now they were in a long range fight. Killer Moth's gun was more deadly and had more range than any weapon in Robin's arsenal. He had to think of some way to turn this around.
That's when a figure leapt out of the dark behind Killer Moth, landing on his back and forcing him into a headlock. Robin immediately recognized it as Barbara from the party, still in her full bat costume.
Holy costumed colleagues! thought Robin, Did she follow me here!?
Killer Moth struggled with the woman hanging off his neck for a moment before flipping her forward and throwing her down onto the concrete. Robin sprinted out from behind cover. He couldn't let Barbara get hurt.
Killer Moth went to ready his gun again, but Barbara was already on the counterattack. She delivered a sweeping kick to Killer Moth's legs, knocking them out from under him and landing him on his back as his gun tumbled to the side. Robin delivered a running kick to the gun and knocked it far away from Killer Moth.
"Just transferred from Metropolis U, huh?" said Barbara, placing her hands on her hips.
"What do you think you're doing, Bat Girl!?" demanded Robin.
"I could ask you the same about what Boy Wonder was doing at a costume party!" snapped Barbara back.
Killer Moth jumped to his feet and turned to Barbara, swinging is fist at her head. Barbara effortlessly ducked under the blow and delivered an uppercut to Killer Moth's chin, striking the exposed area under his helmet and sending him stumbling back. Robin leapt straight up, spun in the air, and delivered a powerful sidekick to Killer Moth's head knocking him back.
"Nice one," admitted Robin, surprised.
"I can handle myself," assured Barbara.
"I've had enough of this!" shouted Killer Moth indignantly.
There was a loud burst of fire as a jet under Killer Moth's wings ignited.
A jetpack! realized Robin, That must have been what blocked my batarang!
Knowing there was no way he could keep up with a jetpack on foot, Robin swiftly threw one of his trackers at the large target that was Killer Moth's wings. A moment later Killer Moth was rocketing through the parking garage. Barbara took off running after him, trailing far behind. Soon Killer Moth made it to the open end of the garage and flew out of it and into the night sky. Barbara arrived at the concrete divider seconds later, gasping for breath and holding onto the divider to keep standing.
"Good job," said Robin, walking up next to her.
"Good job!?" she cried, still out of breath, "He got away!"
"Did he?" smirked Robin, pulling out his smart device depicting the location of his tracker.
"...who are you?" asked Barbara.
"Isn't it obvious by this point? I'm Robin."
"No I mean who are you really?" pressed Barbara, "You're sure not a forensics student."
"I'll have you know I've been educated very thoroughly in forensic psychology," said Robin as he fired his grappling gun out onto a nearby building, "just not at GU."
"Wait!" cried Barbara, but Robin was already swinging away.
Robin arrived atop the nearby building and paused. He had come so close to kissing Barbara at that party. Now she knew Robin's face. To top it all off, she was about as good in a fight as he was. He had a feeling this wasn't the last he'd see of Barbara.
"Barbara!" cried Jim with relief as she walked in, "Oh thank God!"
He ran over to her and hugged her tight. Barbara, still wearing her Batman costume, widened her eyes in bewilderment before pulling away from her dad, pulling off her cowl, and looking up at him. He looked like she had just come back from the dead.
"I heard about the shooting at Gotham University," he said, "I tried to get a hold of you but your phone was in your room!"
"Yeah," said Barbara, "This costume doesn't really have a lot of space for pockets."
"Well next time MAKE room!" lectured Jim, "I was worried sick!"
"I can handle myself, Dad."
"Just imagine if I had to ID your body in this getup!"
"Okay, Dad," laughed Barbara uncomfortably, "Getting a little morbid."
"Alright," conceded Jim, "Just be careful. You know how I worry about you."
Barbara nodded and made her way up to her room. If her dad knew half of what she had done that night, he'd blow a gasket. Barbara had trained in half a dozen forms of self-defense and martial arts and could almost bench her own weight, but he still saw her as a little girl. He would certainly disapprove of what she would do next.
Barbara pulled out her laptop and quickly looked into Drury Walker and his family. Barbara had been obsessed with computers since she was little. She knew exactly where to look. Between publicly available files and posts on the dark web, she was able to determine exactly where Drury was working out of: there was an old abandoned mansion upstate that Drury's family owned. Multiple packages of unusual materials had been delivered there recently and Barbara could only assume the distant hideaway would serve as his base of operations.
Barbara pulled her cowl back on, slid her phone into the waistband of her leggings, and snuck out the window.
"Thanks!" waved Barbara as her rideshare driver drove off.
It had been a strange ride. Not only had she ordered a ride out of Gotham City, but had worn her costume for the whole trip. The driver didn't ask any questions though and was happy to receive a generous tip for his trouble. Barbara made her way toward the mansion, careful to stay close to the ground to hide her movements.
She made her way to the side of the mansion, where ivy had grown all along the wall. Barbara looked up and saw that the ivy went all the way up to a window on the third floor. Barbara sighed, pulled her leggings out of her butt, and began to climb. She had chosen these leggings for the costume because they made her butt look good, but they rode up something awful and weren't super well suited for athletics.
When Barbara made it up to the window, she wrapped her cape around her glove fist and smashed it into the window, shattering it. Shaking the broken glass out of her cape, Barbara carefully climbed in through the window and got a feel for her surroundings. She was in an empty room coated in dust. It looked like she was the first one to be there in decades.
Maybe I was wrong, she thought, Maybe he isn't working out of here.
Barbara made her way through the mansion as she pondered on what had led her to doing this. Robin, the Boy Wonder himself, had shown up at her party disguised as a student. He was apparently on the tail of her classmate Drury Walker, who was apparently secretly Killer Moth.
Hell of a way to spend your weekend, Babs, she thought to herself.
She had to see this through. She had held her own in that fight against Killer Moth. After years of being pushed around by bullies, finally she could stand up for herself. She could stand up for others. It was exactly the kind of life she had hoped for.
Barbara was studying forensic psychology at Gotham University in anticipation of joining the FBI, hoping to avoid working under her dad by joining GCPD. However multiple people had warned her that the FBI would relegate her to deskwork because of her perceived weakness. Everyone saw her as a wimpy computer nerd. It infuriated Barbara. This is what she wanted: fighting super criminals while looking good in tights.
Barbara made her way further and further through the mansion until she found herself in the basement. Her face lit up when she saw that it had been converted into some sort of workshop. Not only that, but there wasn't a speck of dust to be found. She was right! Drury was using this place as a base of operations.
"Well, well, well," chuckled Killer Moth from behind, "If it isn't the Bat Bitch."
Barbara went to turn around but Killer Moth soon had her in a choke hold with the barrel of a pistol pressed against the side of her head. Barbara froze. She had screwed up. She had screwed up and now she was going to die for it.
"I don't know how you found me," grunted Killer Moth, "but no one is going to find you !"
Ting!
"What the-!?"
A batarang had knocked the pistol out of Killer Moth's hand, startling him. Barbara took advantage of his surprise and stomped her heel down on his foot, causing him to keel over in pain. Next she elbowed him in the gut, spun around and punched him straight across his masked face.
Barbara winced and grabbed her hand in pain, having hit the metal mask directly. The next thing she knew two figures leapt out of the dark. One was the familiar gait of Robin, but the other was larger and moved with what looked to be an enormous pair of wings as he descended upon Killer Moth.
"Batman…" whispered Barbara.
Batman tackled Killer Moth to the ground, ripped his helmet off and knocked him out with a single punch to the head. He stood up and looked over at Barbara. Robin looked at both of them nervously.
"What do you think you were doing!?" demanded Batman, his deep voice echoing through the room.
"Um…" stuttered Barbara nervously.
"Hold up!" said Robin, jumping between the two of them, "She's on our side! She's, um, Batgirl!"
"...Batgirl?" said Batman skeptically.
"That's me!" smiled Barbara uncomfortably.
"Take off that ridiculous outfit," ordered Batman.
"Um…"
"I said take it off!"
Batman rushed at Barbara faster than she could perceive. The next thing she knew, she was pinned to the basement floor and Batman was pulling the cowl off her face.
"Barbara Gordon," said Batman plainly, "Jim's daughter."
"You recognize her?" said Robin.
Batman just turned and looked at Robin blankly for a moment before returning his attention to Barbara.
"You will never wear this costume again," said Batman, getting to his feet, "You are never to go out and play hero, understood?"
"What!?" cried Barbara, "Didn't you see me!? I can handle myself! I can help you!"
"I saw you get apprehended and held at gunpoint," said Batman, "He would've killed you if I weren't here. You're not any help. You're a liability."
Barbara bit her lip and looked away nervously. She thought about how carelessly she had been caught, how close she came to dying. She thought about what her dad would think of it. The thought made her heart pound like crazy.
"Please," whispered Barbara, "Don't tell my dad…"
Batman tossed Barbara's cowl aside and leaned down beside her. He pulled her phone from her pants, pulled up a rideshare app, ordered a ride, and handed it back to her before walking away.
"Batman!" called Robin after him, "Wait!"
Barbara looked sadly at her phone, knowing she was in for a long, sad, and introspective ride home.
"Okay," huffed Dick, pulling off his mask as he climbed out of the batmobile, "NOW can we talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Alright," said Dick, "Then you won't mind if I go back and tell her she's on the team?"
"Don't be childish, Dick."
"You're the one refusing to talk about this like adults!"
"You want to talk about this!?" demanded Bruce angrily, pulling his mask off too, "Fine. Let's talk about it. What in the world were you thinking?!"
"What do you mean?"
"That girl could have gotten herself killed, Dick!" yelled Bruce, "All because you weren't thinking straight!"
"She practically saved my life back at GU!" insisted Dick angrily, "She's perfectly qualified for the field."
"Enough!" barked Bruce, "I mean it. You're not thinking clearly."
"Why do you keep saying that?"
"Oh, come on!" yelled Bruce, "Isn't obvious? You clearly have feelings for this girl!"
"I- She- What-?" stammered Dick.
"And those feelings are clouding your judgment," continued Bruce, "The fact of the matter is she's an untrained civilian who thinks that putting on a mask makes her an invincible superhero. If she had gotten there before us, she'd be dead. Is that what you want?"
"No, but-"
"But that's what would have happened!" yelled Bruce.
"Bruce-"
"I'm not going to let the fact that you want to sleep with this girl inform my decision," said Bruce firmly, turning away, "I'm smarter than that. I'd hoped you would be too."
Dick opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He couldn't bring himself to respond. He felt like an idiot. Soon Bruce was gone and he was alone in the batcave.
Maybe Bruce was right. Dick hadn't felt this way about anyone in memory. Maybe his feelings were getting in the way. Maybe this was all because he wanted to sleep with Barbara.
Then Dick remembered her face when she begged Batman not to tell her dad about that night. She looked terrified and ashamed. She saved Robin's life that night and Batman was making her feel like an inept child.
Bruce does have a way of doing that, thought Dick sadly.
Dick looked past the batmobile to the red motorcycle beside it. Dick looked at that and then at the matching helmet next to it. He walked over and put the helmet on. He wasn't going to let Bruce have it his way this time. Dick was going to follow what his heart was telling him, even if Bruce thought that made him foolish.
"Thanks," mumbled Barbara, opening the car door and stepping out.
The car had dropped her off right in front of her home. Not only had Batman known that Barbara was Jim's daughter, but he knew their exact address too. Barbara couldn't help but wonder how much of it her father had shared willingly.
Barbara looked down at the cowl she was holding. She had clutched it in her lap the whole ride back. She couldn't even think of putting it on again after what Batman had said. Maybe everyone was right all along. Maybe she was just a wimpy computer nerd and would have to learn to live with that.
"Batman's a jerk."
Barbara looked up and saw a skinny figure standing under a tree in her yard. As he stepped out into the light she saw that it was Robin.
"How did you get here before me?" asked Barbara, "That batmobile must really be something."
"Actually, I brought my own ride," said Robin, thumbing to a red motorcycle parked across the street.
"Of course you ride a motorcycle," sighed Barbara.
"You need to keep being Batgirl," he said.
"Why?" asked Barbara, "You saw how I did back there. Batman's right. Day one and I immediately get caught. I'm not cut out for this vigilante stuff."
"So?" shrugged Robin, "Just the other week Catwoman pantsed me and got away with stolen goods."
"Wait, what?"
"My point is you shouldn't let one mistake define your life," said Robin, "If this is the life you want to live, you're capable of doing it. Batman's wrong. Plain and simple."
"You seem to know so much about me," frowned Barbara angrily, "but you won't even give me your name."
Robin took a deep breath. He walked up to Barbara, looked down at her, and removed his mask.
"Dick Grayson," he said, "My name's Dick Grayson."
"You- Bruce's ward?" said Barbara, looking about in confusion, "That means Batman's… Oh! Oh that makes so much sense now that I think about it."
"Hey," hushed Robin, putting his mask back on, "I'm telling you this because I trust you. You can't tell anybody."
"Of course," nodded Barbara, "Except my dad, right? I can tell him."
"No!" shouted Robin, covering his mouth in regret as soon as he did.
"Joking," smiled Barbara, giving Robin a playful shove in the shoulder.
"This is serious."
"I know. Thank you for trusting me."
Robin leaned in closer. Barbara began to lift her lips up to his. She paused. She thought about what it would be like to kiss him. She wanted to remember this clearly. She had to pay close attention.
Robin leapt away as something in his belt began to buzz. Robin pulled out a small smart device and clicked it. Batman's face appeared on the screen.
"Robin," he said, "Where are you? Walker's gang is on the move!"
"What?" said Robin, looking into the device.
"Killer Moth's enforcers," explained Batman, "They're headed to 1st and Wellington."
"That's en route to the Blackgate!" realized Robin, "They're going to break Walker out on his way to holding."
"Right," said Batman, "I'm heading there now. Meet me."
The device clicked off.
"I can do you one better, old man," smiled Robin, "I can beat you there."
Robin looked up at Barbara.
"You should come," he said.
"But-"
"Come on," said Robin, "One last shot at the vigilante gig before you throw the cowl in for good?"
"...fine," smiled Barbara.
"Great!" cheered Robin, walking across the street, "Let's go!"
Robin handed Barbara his spare helmet as he put his on and mounted the bike. He motioned for her to get on too. Barbara carefully climbed onto the motorcycle behind Robin, pulling up her cowl and putting the helmet on top of it. Then she wrapped her arms around Robin's waist, locking her fingers as she squeezed tightly.
"Hang on tight!" shouted Robin as they drove off.
The door to the prison transport burst open. Drury Walker looked up with a smile. His men stood there, the transport's drivers tied up on the side of the road. Drury exited the transport as one of his men handed him his jetpack, his gloves, and his mask from his costume.
"We hit up the truck carrying these too, boss," said the henchman.
"Well done," said Killer Moth, adjusting a setting on the glove.
That's when a figure came down from on top of the transport, knocking one of the henchmen down with a sidekick. Another raised a gun to the new figure, but a second one came down as well, landing on the second henchman and flipping him to the ground.
"Not you two again," groaned Killer Moth.
Robin and Batgirl turned to face him.
"Isn't it past your curfew?"asked Killer Moth, "Where's your chaperone?"
"Here," said Robin, handing Batgirl something.
"What?" she asked.
"Don't tell me you don't want to use it."
"I guess I've just never thought about how to throw one."
"Try something," suggested Robin, "We'll work on form later."
"What are you two babbling- OW!"
Batgirl had shucked a batarang at Killer Moth, puncturing his chest and sticking out of him as his shirt began to turn red where it had been hit.
"See?" said Robin, "You're a natural."
"Why you little…" grumbled Killer Moth angrily.
"Now we'll just be taking you in," said Robin, approaching Killer Moth, "It'll be easier if you just-"
Killer Moth threw a punch, but Robin caught his wrist inches from his face. Killer Moth let out a quiet laugh as he touched his index and ring fingers together, activating the mechanism inside the glove. A burst of purple gas released from the fingertips, smothering Robin's face.
"Robin!" cried out Batgirl, running toward them.
Robin fell to the ground as Killer Moth pulled the batarang out of his chest and tossed it aside. Batgirl swung at him as he leaned back to dodge, aiming his arm at Batgirl. She deflected the arm away before the gas released and struck Killer Moth in the face with another punch.
Batgirl caught sight of the shoulder strap for Killer Moth's jetpack. There was a button just below the shoulder, barely recognizable from a distance. Up close though, Batgirl was able to grab a hold of the strap and press the button.
"What did you do!?" cried Killer Moth, moments before his jets ignited and blasted him back into the transport, knocking him out as he crashed into the interior.
Batgirl turned back and rushed to Robin's side, where she found him coughing and gasping for air. He had been infected with some sort of poison.
"Dick!" cried Batgirl, "Dick! Come on, talk to me!"
A heavy hand came down on Batgirl's shoulder. She looked up and gasped to see Batman standing directly over her. He guided her aside as he knelt beside Robin, pulling out a syringe and preparing to administer it.
"An antidote?" asked Batgirl hopefully.
"I synthesized one as soon as I found the samples in Walker's house," said Batman.
"Is he going to be-?"
Batgirl never got to finish her sentence. Batman had her in a choke hold and she couldn't breath. A warmth filled her head as everything went dark.
"Nnngh…"
Batgirl opened her eyes shaking her head to wake herself up. She was leaning against a wall in a dark room. Batman had choked her out. She had to figure out where she was now. She went to move her right arm, but quickly realized that it was handcuffed to a pipe next to her.
Slowly Batgirl's vision adjusted to the light and she got a better look at her surroundings. She couldn't make out the entire room, but she could tell that it was in a large cavern, but fixed up with piping, generators, and lighting. An enormous computer monitor stood at the center of the room, looming over the control panel.
Wow, realized Batgirl, I'm in the batcave! It IS real!
She jerked at her cuffed hand again. She wished she could have visited under more pleasant circumstances. She sighed in defeat, only to hear the sound of two voices distantly shouting elsewhere in the cave.
"It was bad enough that you told her your name," roared Batman, "but in the process you exposed both of our identities! Do you have any idea what that means!? New identities, new lives, completely abandoning our home and giving up countless resources to our cause!"
"We can trust her!" shouted Robin back.
"Because you want to get into her pants?"
"Cut it out with that!" snapped Robin, "I don't know if you know this, but you have a way of making people really, really crappy about themselves. The fact that I knew her real identity and that she didn't know mine was just another thing making her feel powerless!"
"We can't go risking our entire operation because of how one person feels !" yelled Batman, "You need to understand that."
"Alright, then how about this?" said Robin, "She saved my life tonight. She fought alongside me on par with me. She found Walker's base of operations as quickly as we did all by herself."
"This was never a job interview," growled Batman.
"My point is she is more capable than I am," concluded Robin, "So if you really want to take a vigilante off the streets, it should be me!"
"Is that a fact?"
"Yup," said Robin, "So what's it going to be, Batman? You benching me or what?"
"I'm not going to entertain this."
"I'm going to see her."
"You will not."
"Get out of my way, Bruce."
Batgirl held her breath. The tension in their voices had her on edge.
"Move," ordered Robin, "or I'll make you."
"You know you're no match for me."
"I don't care."
Silence. Batgirl finally exhaled, but the tension hung in the air. Then she heard footsteps approaching. Soon Robin was walking around the corner. He smiled at Batgirl as he knelt beside her and pulled lock picking supplies out of his utility belt.
"I, um," said Batgirl nervously, "heard you two talking."
"Good," sighed Robin, popping open the cuff, "That'll save me time on having to explain it to you."
"Uh, Dick?"
Batman stood over Robin, looking down at him with an expressionless glare. He nodded and then turned to walk away. He took several steps, stopped, and began to speak without turning around.
"I will contact you in the next few days," he said, "Do not go out in that costume until then."
"Wait," said Batgirl, getting to her feet, " Until then?"
"Your tentative membership with this operation begins now," he said, "If I change my mind, I will ensure you stay off the streets."
"...why?" asked Batgirl after a moment, "Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but what made you decide to even give me a chance?"
"Today you brought something out of Robin that I never could."
Robin and Batgirl looked to one another, confused.
"The courage to stand up to Batman," said Batman, still not turning around.
Robin blushed. Batgirl smiled at him. Batman resumed his walk out of the room.
"See you soon," he said, "Batgirl."
Several weeks later.. .
"Wow," marvelled Barbara, "This is much nicer than any apartment I thought I'd have for years!"
"Perks of working for a billionaire," said Dick, walking past Barbara with a pile of cardboard boxes in his arms, "Couldn't exactly have you operating out of your dad's place now, could we?"
Barbara smiled at Dick as he squatted down and placed the large pile against the wall. The act shaped his butt nicely through his skinny jeans. Barbara made sure she had averted her gaze by the time he had stood up and turned around.
"Bruce just texted," said Dick, "He says your new costume should be ready tomorrow."
"Thank God," sighed Barbara, "I don't know if you know this, but that homemade thing was constantly in my butt. I'm talking wedgie city."
"I thought you'd be used to that," smiled Dick, walking closer to her, "nerd."
"Yeah well let's not forget this nerd saved your butt from Killer Moth."
"Hey, I'm not complaining," whispered Dick as he moved within inches of Barbara's face, "It made for quite the view on those stakeouts."
"You checking me out, Boy Wonder?" teased Barbara, gripping his shirt with both hands.
"Only so much as you're checking me out."
"Hm," smiled Barbara, looking up at him, "That's quite a lot."
They kissed. Barbara pressed her face tightly up against his. Dick placed his hands lightly on her hips. Soon he slid his hands up past her waist. She made a grab at his butt. She heard the sound of his zipper as he slid his pants to the ground. Barbara instinctively unbuckled her belt, kicked off her shoes, and pulled her jeans off.
"So we're doing this?" smiled Dick hopefully.
"Yes!" exclaimed Barbara, pulling off her sweater and the shirt underneath, "Yes we are!"