It had been a year since Kevin had moved to Gotham and established a relationship with his father Bruce. Not only did he develop a strong father/son bond, but he also got close with Barbara. They were practically the best of friends. By now, Kevin had accepted that he was in love with Barbara. What Kevin didn't know was that Barbara was also in love with Kevin. But she was afraid of telling Kevin her feelings for him because what if he didn't love her back? Who would ever love a woman who can't walk was what Barbara thought to herself, and what if Kevin wanted children with her, and what if she couldn't physically bear children for him? What if he left her for another woman who was more beautiful and could walk and have babies? What if Kevin was actually in love with her friend Kara Danvers or Courtney Whitmore or Jessica Cruz? Sometimes, there were nights Barbara would have nightmares of the night Joker shot and violated her, and she would scream in her sleep, would Kevin want to deal with that? These were the thoughts that sometimes plagued Barbara's mind whenever she thought about the possibility of starting a romantic relationship with Kevin. It scared her and made her sad.
A couple weeks back, Bane, who was responsible for breaking Batman's back, had come back to Gotham once more. And it looked like Bane had brought a brand new version of Venom, the very substance that was Bane's source of power that enhanced his strength, nearly rivaling Superman's strength. Nearly. People would assume that Bane could be responsible for this because recently, there had been a string of mysterious and destructive attacks on Gotham. Allegations arose stating that huge muscle-bound brutes were sighted around Gotham, leaving a path of destruction in their path! And when the brutes reverted back to normal and the police tried to question them, they would immediately die from a cardiac arrest! Barbara's father Commissioner James Gordon was hoping that Batman could help, but unfortunately, Batman and Robin were off on a mission to deal with an affair regarding the League of Assassins. They had been gone for a week. It was another dark evening in Gotham, and Kevin came over to the Gotham Clocktower.
Barbara was furiously typing at her computer while trying to help everyone all at once when she noticed Kevin walking in. Kevin was wearing a t-shirt that said "Some Days, You Just Can't Get Rid Of A Bomb," blue jeans, green socks, and red Chuck Taylor All-Stars. Barbara was wearing a purple sweater, a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and white trainer sneakers with purple highlights on. Kevin knocked on the door and said, "knock knock! How's my favorite redhead doing?" Barbara had the look of a frustrated person who had just had three cups of coffee and was still stressed out and as Kevin came in, the redhead looked at her crush and she said, "not good at all. It's no secret that Bane is responsible for these muscular brutes rampaging Gotham. It must be some sort of Venom."
"The stuff that Bane uses to get all muscular?" Kevin asked, "I remember when Dad took a prototype of that stuff in pill form before he met Bane. More like he told me about how that happened, and he told me how difficult it was to overcome that addiction. Do you think Bane has made a brand new Venom given the savagery of these brutes?" Barbara pushed her glasses up between her eyes and said, "that's what we're guessing. Your timing actually is perfect Kevin, because Stephanie and your second cousin Kate are coming over with a sample of blood that contains this mysterious compound. I was going to study it here, maybe you could take half of it to study at the Wayne Enterprise science lab." Kevin smiled a little and said, "yeah, I think I can do that. Want me to look for the glass vials?" Barbara nodded and said, "I would appreciate that. They should be somewhere in the chemical lab here." Kevin gave a thumbs up and said, "I got you covered, Babs." Kevin then went to look for the glass vials that Barbara would sometimes use whenever she needed to study chemicals. Eventually Kevin found two glass vials and brought them back to where Barbara was at, she was furiously typing at the computer, wondering how Bane managed to make this supposed Venom more potent. She grunted and slammed her finger on the keyboard, getting more and more frustrated.
"Ugh! This is useless! There's nothing here to tell me how he's doing this!" Barbara complained. Kevin waved shyly to reveal the glass vials, smiling nervously. "I'm sorry Kevin," apologized Barbara, "I'm just really stressed out right now. You didn't do anything wrong, I'm just really stressed with everything that's going on and wondering when your father will be back. We need all the help we can get." Kevin rub the back of his neck and said, "that's the thing, I don't know either. It's not often Dad's gone from Gotham for more than two days, and that's usually if he's off-world with the Justice League." Alfred was also communicating through the Batcomputer and he chimed in, "indeed. But the message Master Damian sent us sounded quite urgent given the circumstances regarding…" Barbara sighed angrily before Alfred could mention Talia Al Ghul, silencing the butler. Kevin tried to calm Barbara down by gently massaging her shoulders. "Sorry Barb, I guess some of us forget how mentioning the League Of Assassins gets under your skin," said Kevin, "is this helping a little?" Barbara sighed in a more relaxed manner, "that does feel nice. I never knew those hands were so good at massaging."
"Babs, you deserve a spa day for all the work you do," said Kevin as he continued to massage Barbara's tense shoulders. Suddenly, the two could hear Cassandra Cain clear her throat. Kevin and Babs noticed her in her Batgirl suit, with Kevin's first cousin once removed Kate Kane in her Batwoman outfit. "Are we interrupting anything?" Kate teased. Kevin stopped massaging Barbara's shoulders as he squeaked in embarrassment, "no." Barbara started to blush in embarrassment. "You two could have let me know you were inside the Clocktower," she scolded, her and Kevin looking like two teenagers that got caught doing something dirty. "We got the blood sample." Cassandra flatly said. "Perfect," said Kevin as he put on some latex gloves and took the blood sample, "this should be big enough to put in the two vials. I can take one of the vials to the science division at Wayne Enterprises for further studying to see what other chemicals are contained in this enhanced Venom. I'll be sure to update you all on whatever results I find." Batwoman nodded and said, "sounds like a good plan, cuz."
"I'll go meet Stephanie at the docks for further sweeping of anything," said Cassandra as she grappled out of the Clocktower. "Kate, keep an eye on Cassandra," ordered Barbara. Kate asked, "are you sure you'll be alright? I could stay behind and…"
"No, Kate." Barbara interrupted, "I'll manage. Besides, we need to see if there's any more clues we can gather from the scenes of the various brute attacks. Plus, Renee Montoya is still at the hospital. Maybe she could give us some leads." Kevin carefully poured half of the blood sample in the first vial while Barbara was doing an analysis of the sample on her computer. Kate sighed and grappled out of the Gotham Clocktower, leaving Barbara with just Kevin. "You want me to stay with you while you wait for the analysis?" Kevin asked, "I gotta write some notes down regarding the chemicals anyway." Barbara sighed, "sure. That would be a bit nice." For 30 minutes, Barbara kept on waiting for the process to show some form of results, dimming down Barbara's patience as she rubbed her forehead and frustration. "Come on, come on!" She growled in frustration, "just give me… something!" Barbara rolled out of the room for a few minutes. Two minutes later, there were results. Kevin looked at everything that was described on the computer, and he immediately wrote it down. "This is perfect, Alfred!" Kevin said with some enthusiasm. "I would suggest letting Barbara know of this surprising news," said Alfred. Kevin walked over to the other side and said, "Babs, we found out something regarding the chemical mixture," said Kevin. Barbara looked at Kevin and asked, "what is it?" Kevin could tell that Babs had been crying due to her tear stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes. Barbara rolled her wheelchair back to the computer and saw the results on the screen.
"It's just as you and I suspected, Babs," said Kevin, "this is indeed a newly modified version of Venom, with brand new chemicals." Alfred replied, "there are a number of enhancements to it. Increased strength and aggression are the most common side effects. Which would explain the brute like behavior. There's also something peculiar in the compound's structure." Barbara looked at the screen and read aloud, "it says that it has regenerative properties. Does this mean that Bane used the liquid from the Lazarus Pit?" Kevin placed his hand on his chin in a pondering manner and said, "seems likely, given how the chemical mixture looks similar to the Lazarus Pit. Could explain why the Venom is glowing green like a glow stick. It just might also explain why Dad and Damian are at the League's hideout." Barbara sighed as this was the breakthrough they had been looking for. "Are you gonna go to the lab and do further studying?" Barbara asked. "That's the idea," said Kevin as he took the first vial while closing it shut, "there could be an additional chemical in there."
Barbara stared at the second vial, the words regenerative properties ringing in her head, as this could mean she could regain her ability to walk again, making Barbara feel optimistic. She took the vial, ready to drink it. Kevin saw this and said, "whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you think you're doing? I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you drink that, the results could be unpredictable." Alfred replied, "I concur, Master Kevin. We do not know what would happen if you plan to consume it. I request that you stop before…"
"Alfred, Kevin." Barbara protested, "this might be my only chance to walk again. I'd rather take the risk now than spend another day in this damn wheelchair." She then drank the entire vial, giving the kind of look someone would give after drinking bitter medicine. At first, nothing happened. Suddenly, Barbara started to groan in pain, gripping her stomach. "Barbara! Are you okay?!?!?!" Kevin asked in concern as Barbara's damaged spine started to regrow and reattach, practically healing itself to where it was before it was destroyed by that one bullet. Barbara said while panting, "yeah… I'm okay… but I could practically feel my body healing…" Kevin asked, "are you able to feel your legs?" Barbara looked down at her feet, and she felt her toes twitching inside her shoes. She moved her right foot around and said with excitement, "oh my goodness… Kevin, I can feel my legs!" Kevin smiled and said, "that's great, Barbara!" The redhead then stood up from her wheelchair effortlessly. "I'm really happy for you," said Kevin, "and I just realized we're the same height." Barbara lifted the wheelchair with ease and said, "looks like I won't be needing this anymore!" She then tossed the wheelchair to one side like it was made of paper, concerning Alfred and Kevin. Barbara was in a wave of euphoria as she noticed one of the target dummies. She aimed a powerful high kick at it, the force was so strong, it knocked the head clean off. "Remind me not to tickle you," joked Kevin, trying to lighten the mood. Babs looked at Kevin and asked, "do you know what this means Kevin? I can finally go back on the field with everyone else, physically! I can be Batgirl again!"
Suddenly, Kevin and Barbara could hear a distress call coming from the police scanner. The Joker had gotten a group of people trapped, and he was threatening to kill them. With everything going on, this was the last thing Gotham needed. Hearing The Joker's name was enough to make Barbara think of that fateful night when he shot her right through the spine and violated her, ruining her life. The trauma made her breathe intensely, triggering a primal rage based on the trauma that Joker had caused, her insecurities, and her deep resentments. "That damn clown…" Barbara angrily growled, her sky blue eyes turning green. Kevin's demeanor changed to a look of fright when listening to Barbara's growls turn more animalistic. "Barbara…? Are you okay?" Kevin asked fearfully. Barbara gripped her head as her glasses fell off. Kevin witnessed Barbara's clothing begin to tighten, as if her body was gaining muscles. "Something… wrong with me, Kevin!" Barbara said as she looked at Kevin, her hands increased in size as she started to grow taller, "feeling strange… so ANGRY!" Kevin moved back as she slammed her hands on the desk, the impact breaking the desk. Her skin started to slowly turn green and her red hair snapped out of the hair tie, becoming longer with green highlights forming at the roots. Her moans were like a cross between demonic and a pornstar as the sleeves on Barbara's sweater ripped to reveal her swelling arms that became thick and muscular. Barbara continued to grip her head. Her voice got low as she moaned, "thoughts… CLOUDY!!! GRAWR!" Kevin saw Barbara's toes pop through her shoes, and then her feet got bigger, bursting out of her shoes. Barbara's growls became more inhuman as her sweater and shirt split in half revealing her expanding chest that formed a set of eight pack abs. Barbara opened up her rage-filled green eyes as she growled, "seeing visions of Joker… the night he hurt me! Rrrrrr!" Her panting growls became heavier and heavier as her sweater and shirt fell off her huge body, and she growled while looking at her tightening bra, "GET THIS STUPID THING OFF!" Her pants exploded off from her muscular legs as she tore off her bra right in front of Kevin, revealing her huge breasts, temporarily relieving Babs. "The sound of his laughter…" Barbara angrily growled as her panties got tighter, "BURNING INTO MY BRAIN!!!!" And with that surge of rage, it caused her panties to fly off, making Barbara completely naked. She was now a large muscular 8 ft tall green skinned monster! Barbara flexed her muscles and roared in rage, Kevin witnessing her frightening transformation. He was paralyzed with fear!
Kevin looked at Barbara with a mix of sadness and fright and whimpered, "Barbara…" The green-skinned monster in Barbara's place recognized her name, and the familiar voice. She looked down at Kevin and growled. She recognized his face, and the look of fright as their eyes locked, dark blue eyes looking at savage green eyes. And it was as if some primal instinct buried within Barbara mentally told her, "no… don't hurt Kevin…" She made an unholy growl and smashed the computers (except for the vial of the remaining blood sample) charging through the clock face and, and jumped out of the tower. Kevin breathed in and out slowly, and when he was able to regain his ability to speak, he said, "A…. Al… Alfred?? You saw that, right?" Alfred said through the screen, "I did, Master Kevin…" Kevin walked towards the damaged tower and all the other damaged debris down below, he could hear Barbara's roars in the distance. He was scared for Barbara, wondering what would happen next. It was only going to get worse from here.