Oracle and the Network
7.0
Dick Grayson, the adventurer known as Batman, grunted with effort as the blue and black clad man kicked out gracefully. In the same motion he dodged a attack from another mobster and got clear from two other men meaning to pin him. It was a wild melee as the seven men tried to catch him, but they were getting closer even as he knocked down another one.
"Help is inbound," the voice in his ear said.
"Thanks," Batman muttered as he uppercut a man before he could grab a chair and try to use it to pound Dick silly.
"Dark Vengance!" a girl's voice yelled as the red-brown haired girl hammered into the back of the attacking mob, shaking their concentration. At the same time a slim Asian woman dressed in street clothes calmly began dropping attackers with smooth, precise blows.
"Are you all right?" Cass Cain asked Batman politely as she gracefully karate chopped a man across the neck.
"A bit embarassed about needing to be resued, but other than that fine," Batman admitted. He frowned as the three finished up, "Boss Thorne got out, I sent Robin after him..."
The door was kicked open as two figures strode in, dragging the mob boss between them. Huntress looked amused as the purple and black clad woman pulled on one leg, while the much younger Robin hauled on the other.
"Not bad," Damian Wayne noted as Robin added, "though I'm sure the soldiers my mother trained could do better."
Huntress decided it would be best to ignore that as she checked in with the boss. "Oracle, any more out there?" she asked softly.
"That'd be it," Oracle confirmed quietly, "looks like Thorne was planning a meet with Le Bossu, but the other didn't show."
"That's because we just finished busting Bossu," Dick noted wryly. "Robin and I are trying to track down the rest of the International League of Villains."
Misfit posed with a boot resting on a unconscious crook, "If you need a hand, just call."
Robin sniffed, "As if we'd need YOUR help."
Misfit opened her mouth to snap back when Cass put a hand on her arm and shook her head. "What about Intergang?" she asked.
"No news," Dick shook his head, looking much more serious than usual, dressed in the Batman's cowl.
"Well, we'll just have to keep looking," Oracle said briskly. Her voice went just to the team, "Zinda's on her way to pick you up, ETA one minute."
"Got it," Huntress acknowledged, herding her teammates outside for pick up even as Batman and Robin bundled up the crooks for pick up.
The helicopter dropped it's cloak as the near silent vehicle picked up the Birds of Prey, even as Batman and Robin took off in their new flying car. "Damn," Zinda muttered as the blond watched, "we gotta get ourselves one of those."
"Later," Huntress suggested, the copter returning to cloak as they raced across the Gotham night. "So," she asked Zinda quietly, "how did the talk with Oracle go?"
"What talk?" Zinda asked innocently.
"The talk about you dating her father," Huntress smirked.
"Oh, well...," Zinda flushed slightly.
Back at the Metropolis Aerie Oracle sighed as she listened to the conversation with half a ear, the rest of her attention focused on her other jobs. She had indeed had a talk with Zinda about her dating James Gordon, but it had been a mostly friendly discussion. Honestly her biggest concern had been that Zinda might just be playing with her Dad, but as far as she could tell Zinda was serious about him. Well, as serious as the pilot ever got.
"Oracle," Dick hailed her, "I wanted to ask you something."
"Yes?" Babs asked as she hacked one of Vandal Savage's off-shore accounts. She planned to put the blood money to good use funding a inner-city children's center.
"Has Cassandra picked out a new costumed identity for herself?" Dick asked curiously.
"Not yet," Babs acknowledged as the money flowed into the new accounts she created. "Let me guess, you have a suggestion?" she teased.
More seriously Dick answered, "Actually, I was thinking she could use Nightwing."
"Huh." Babs sat back as the computer pinged, signaling that a criminal's account was now empty. "I'll run it by her," she said, "but I don't know if she'll take it."
"I understand," Dick agreed.
"So how is it going, taming young Damian?" Babs teased, grinning.
Dick sighed softly, "Don't ask."
Babs snickered softly, having been ranted at earlier by Steph, the new Batgirl. Apparently Robin was obnoxious, offensive and 'a little troll.' On the other hand, Steph also had to admit that he was pretty good in the fighting department.
"Call me if you need a hand," Babs offered even as her console signaled her that the team was returning to base.
"Hey Babs!" Zinda called as they trotted in, "Can we get a flying car too?"
"Not until I finish paying off the Aeries," Babs shot back cheerfully as she set the AI to automatic and rolled out in her wheelchair to check on her team.
There was a warm sense of camaraderie forming between the team members, Babs noted. Helena, Zinda and Charlie were already friends, and Cassandra Cain seemed to be fitting in well too. She didn't banter much with the others, but Babs knew that Cass had been fairly shy for as long as she had known her.
"Have you heard back from any of your new recruits?" Helena asked curiously.
"Neither Manhunter or Gypsy wants to be on the team on a full time basis, but they have agreed to be on call if needed," Babs shrugged, "which is all I was really hoping for."
"I look forward to sparring with Gypsy," Cass noted thoughtfully as she grabbed a bottle of water, "she was trained by Bronze Tyger."
Everyone followed her lead, grabbing snacks and water from the fridge in what Babs thought of as the briefing room. "Manhunter has some pretty impressive gear, too," Misfit noted, having worked with the older woman during the previous incarnation of the birds.
"I don't know if I trust her," Huntress shook her head, "Didn't she mess with one of our operations for the DEO?"
"I did kind of hack into her gear without permission," Babs noted mildly. She shrugged, "I think as long as we don't conflict with the DEO, we should be safe."
"And if she betrays us again, we can take steps," Cass said calmly.
"Pie in the face?" Misfit suggested. "Whoopie cushions are good too."
Huntress snickered softly. "Remind me not to get on your bad side," she noted, smiling.
"Speaking of bad sides," Misfit sounded very reluctant as she brought something up, "does anyone know what happened to Black Alice?"
Everyone grimaced at that, except for Cass who just looked curious. Black Alice was a teenager with a frighteningly powerful ability to copy the powers of any other magical being, including the Specter itself! Sadly she was a angry, messed up young woman, and had made several very bad choices using her abilities. Babs had brought her into the Birds of Prey to try to help her, but in the end it didn't work out.
"The last I heard she was tangled up with the Dark Side Clubs," Huntress admitted, "but they're all shut down now."
"I've been trying to track her down as well," Babs said with a sigh. "She went home for awhile, but her father is very ill." She got a container of water herself, "Alice has dropped right off the grid, except for sending money home to take care of her father."
"So where's the money coming from?" Zinda asked thoughtfully.
"I think she's doing mercenary work," Babs admitted, "and there's a name rattling around with the rumors." She took another drink to wet a dry throat, "The Secret Six."
"They're the ones who defied the Secret Society," Helena noted, just a little admiringly. The Birds had faced the Six once, and she had flirted quite a bit with Catman at the time. Nothing had come of it, of course, but still...
"Do you think we should try to break her away from them?" Misfit asked.
"We'd need to find them first," Babs shook her head, "I'm having no luck tracing their base of operations, at least so far."
Cass was perched on the counter, the black haired young woman looking thoughtful. "Maybe we could hire the Six for a job?" she asked.
"It's a thought," Babs conceded. Shaking her head she said, "All right, what did we learn in our little trip to Gotham?"
"There are a lot of new names on the street right now," Charlie said quickly, "and they're fighting the old mobs for dominance."
"And the old mobs are losing," Helena noted, having once been the daughter of one of those mobs. "They're also bringing in new muscle," she added.
"Cops are being run pretty ragged too," Zinda noted, having assisted the police quite a bit recently with her chopper service.
"No sign of Intergang yet, but they will move in if they can," Cass noted mildly.
Babs nodded, proud of her team and their observations. "Exactly right," she said, "and it's because of that we'll be splitting our operations between the Metropolis and Gotham Aeries, at least until things quiet down."
"Assuming they ever quiet down much," Helena said with a faint smile, "this is Gotham we're talking about."
"Point," Babs smiled wryly. Business-like she added, "I think I'll step up my efforts to recruit other Gotham based heroes too."
"If you can't find them electronically give us some names," Zinda grinned as she promised, "we'll track them down."
"I may do that," Babs admitted.
To be continued...
Notes: Catching this up to the regular Batman and Robin canon, where Batman has been replaced by Dick Grayson. I may or may not tie this into Gotham City Sirens, with Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, since I could see Catwoman maybe working with Oracle. Ivy & Harley, not so likely.
