Flashback Chapter 17 The Path We Tread
They had gone too far.
The Evil Bug Twins had set fire to the GCPD headquarters.
The Gordons' home was close enough to get there in a matter of minutes; tense, angry, outraged minutes.
Babs paused, standing on the edge of the adjacent building, momentarily hypnotized by the flames. The GCPD did fire drills every week; most likely there'd be no loss of life, it could be worse, but…
She looked up, and saw Killer Moth flying a 'copter, and Firefly standing above the blaze, laughing.
Babs saw red. She threw herself into the void, grappling to the burning building, avoiding the flames as best as possible. She climbed, one hand above the other, boots causing fragments of brickwork to fall. The only thought in her head was to get Firefly, and stop him and Killer Moth from escaping.
But it seemed Moth was urging his partner to make an escape while he could, for by the time she reached the roof, the 'copter was moving off, Firefly climbing the rope ladder. She reached for the grapple, but it wouldn't lock on properly, and would probably dislocate her shoulders. Instead, she threw one of the corded batarangs.
The metal shard flew, wrapping around one of the landing struts of the 'copter a few times before pulling tight. Babs quickly clipped the carbine on the other end to her belt, just as the tension lifted her into the air.
The wind whipped past her cowl, catching her hair and cape behind her. In only a few moments she was speeding through the sky behind her foes. It occurred to her that this might not have been the wisest plan, but already being at terminal velocity…
She glanced around, and down. Spotting what she'd hoped to see, she did some of the quickest calculations of her life, and flung another corded batarang, clipped it not to her belt, but to the line attached to the 'copter. The batarang wrapped around a cell phone mast, anchoring the 'copter with Babs caught in the middle.
Babs looked down, relieved to see one of her calculations was right. She was directly above the swimming pool. She reached for the carbine on her belt, spotting a black helicopter cutting through the air towards her. Feeling somewhat miffed that Batman would get the credit, but knowing the lines were recoiling and she couldn't wait, she released the carbine and fell.
Fast enough to punch through the glass ceiling, slow enough not to break every bone as she entered the water. She plunged into the pool, mostly just relieved she'd got it right.
Struggling to the surface, she pulled herself onto the poolside, gasping at the chill. She wrapped her arms around herself, hoping to warm up, or at least finish coming down from the adrenaline high, before going home. She watched as, far above, her foes were pulled from their craft as it crashed and burned. The sky darkened again, empty once more.
"Batgirl?" a soft voice said behind her, and she turned to see Robin approaching. "Can you get your cape off?" he asked, removing his own and draping it over her shoulders as she detached the wet sheet of fabric from her cowl and set it aside.
"Thanks," she said, curling into the dry material. "Did you get them?"
"Moth and Firefly? Yup," Robin answered, picking up Babs' cape and starting to wring it out. "Are you okay? Any injuries?"
"Freezing, and I'll most likely be stiff as a board tomorrow, but I think I'm fine, Babs replied.
"Good," Robin said. "I can check lost property for a towel if you want to sneak into the showers. Promise I won't peek."
Accepting his offer, Babs stepped into the changing rooms, stripped, and wrung out her costume before stepping under the jets of hot water.
Ten minutes later, warmer and somewhat drier, she left the changing rooms. Robin was waiting, touching his comm. "Come on," he said.
"Where are we going?" Babs asked, following him out the window and onto the rooftops.
"Here," Robin said after a moment, dropping down into an alleyway. Babs followed, coming face to face with Batman, leaning against the Batmobile, a bright red next to it.
"Get in," Batman growled. Babs slid in the passenger side as Batman took the wheel.
"No gas this time?" Babs asked snidely, watching Robin start off on the bike.
Batman passed a strip of cloth; a blindfold. "Put this on."
It seemed like an eternity later that Batman was guiding her (through the cave?) by her arm. After a while he released her and told her to stay. About a minute later, the voice on the intercom told her to remove the blindfold.
In front of her were two cut-outs – she was in the training room. These two, rather than generic thugs, were modelled after Killer Moth and Firefly. "This is your life at this moment," the voice said. "This is all you'll have to deal with if you walk away."
The end of Firefly's flamethrower began to glow, and Babs flew into action. A moment later, the remains of the duo sank into the floor. "And if I don't walk away?"
With a series of clanks, a new set of cut-outs rose; nearly a dozen of them. Two-Face, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Mr Freeze; a mixture of Arkham's worst. "Then this is your future," the voice replied.
Babs looked at the gathering, and thought of how hard she'd fought to get this far. She could do it; she could go all the way; she could take these guys. She started moving, ducking, striking, using one against the other but avoiding lethal force. And with a final clank, one last cut-out rose. She hesitated; it was Joker, worst of the worst, Clown Prince of crime. Could she, would she, defeat him?
Batgirl's boot shot out, catching him in the midriff and snapping him in two. If this was her future, she would not fear it.
The lights came on, and she turned to see Batman enter. "Would you do that every night?" he asked. "Risk your life, surrender your safety, and if needed, die for the innocent?"
"I will," Batgirl answered, and knew she would. No matter what, she wouldn't give up now.
"Come," Batman said, and led her out of the cave, to an old cemetery. Looking beyond the rows of gravestones, she saw a dark-haired figure sat on the ground by a pair of graves – Robin; it had to be. She followed Batman towards him. When they arrived, she saw his unmasked face, and her mind blanked. She glanced back at Batman, his cowl around his neck. Then she read the inscriptions on the four nearest tombstones, and everything snapped into place. Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne, using their skills and resources to avenge their parents and save others from their unhappy lot. The expensive toys, the time and devotion, all explained by the reason.
Babs slid her cowl her off, and met Robin's eyes. "I'm with you," she vowed. "No matter what." And she would be. She'd give them loyalty, secrecy, courage. Whatever Fate laid out, this was the path she chose.
AN: And that concludes this arc! Babs still has a lot to learn, but she's on the right path. Again, deviations from the source material, but I think it still works quite nicely. I will say that it was in the comics that Bruce took Babs to the graveyard after she agreed; I didn't make up the unmasking myself.
Next week will see the next installment of Family Ties. I'm still taking suggestions for who the next focus character is. I'll give you two clues (because I'm bored): it's not Dami, and one reviewer has already got it.
There will be more Flashback at some point in the future, because I have a rather off-the-wall idea for the next chapter.
Also this week, more LBV with a few Titans and a stubborn little birdie. And more of that next week as well.
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See you around.
Katara