Dinah leaned in the doorway as she watched Barbara work for a moment. “You keep that up, you are gonna have a hunchback.” She teased lightly ass she walked over to her, arms folding across her chest. “What is so interesting that you can even pretend to be listening to what I’m saying?” She asked her as she leaned over her shoulder. She knew there was no ill intention behind it but Barbara had a knack for technology that Dinah just couldn’t grasp.
there had been a period of time where the clocktower was scarcely used – each of the birds of prey taking care of their own business and their own cities. now, she had quite a bit of work to do to restore it to it’s former glory. her head picked up at dinah’s voice, tearing her away from the coding in front her. “a hunchback and staying up in my tower? give me a bell to ring and we can call it a day. it sounds peaceful.” she half teased, finally turning to face her friend. “upgrading our security systems so the failsafe bombs don’t explode in our sleep or when batman, nightwing, or anyone else decide to drop by unannounced.” she shrugged, probably too casually. “you have my attention though, how’s it going?”
something about barbara always made bruce relax just a hairline more than he would around other people. she gave off an energy that could only be qualified as easy-going and enthusiastic, and just like her father she was genuine and kind. taking the cowl off, he let out a small chuckle before nodding his head to her. “well, i think he got the speech right if that helps for anything, maybe i’ll show up on the roof tonight and tell him he did a good job.” he joked despite actually feeling pretty serious about it. “he’s scared - a lot of bad people are filing in, hiding among the good - gotham’s got its problems, but it’s adopted a hell of a lot more since we had to shelter the world.”
“it’s weird, and he’d never admit it, but i think he’d actually like that.” she admitted with a deep breath. her father’s relationship with batman, with any of them was somewhat complicated. he tolerated them because they provided the results the city needed, the kind the cops couldn’t do. but over time, she could tell he’d grown to have a certain level of respect for him. “well, you aren’t wrong.” barbara admitted with a nod before moving to a certain space in the room, prying up a floor board, and sitting down to fix the wiring underneath that connected her systems. “but we have some extra good guys in the mix – wonder people, speedsters, and archers – but gotham’s type of trouble isn’t really what they’re used to. we’ll have to take the help where we can get it.” she was thinking out loud, a small habit. “their border is getting uncomfortably close to the manor though – how are things holding up out that way?”
“excuse me, officer grayson –” she’d been waiting for any other cops to disperse and for him to be alone. barbara leaned on the fire escape of a building in her batgirl gear, using the rail to hold and flip gracefully over before landing on the ground nearby. “i may have heard on the scanners that you were on duty... was kind of hoping you’d want some company?” she offered with a small smile behind her mask. they were all feeling the weight of things lately, she needed a distraction and could only assume dick would as well. babs had to admit, she also just didn’t really want to be alone. “i don’t mind tagging along, i’ll even help with any paperwork you get stuck with.”
living a double life, having a secret identity, it always came at a cost - some more extreme than others - but certain levels of exhaustion were always expected. to wake up and live a normal life, hold a job or several during the day, and then put on a mask at night... barbara had learned how to live on just a few hours of sleep ( if she was lucky ) and a vast amount of coffee. it was nearing the of the night when she was in an alleyway, waiting for the cops to come pick up a few thugs she’d found trying to rob a liquor store that she’d left cuffed and waiting by the doors. it was only out the corner of her eye she spotted the familiar red. “it’s been a while.” she started, taking a look in his direction. things were usually strained with jason and the rest of the family, but babs always just wanted to be a friend. “i don’t suppose you’re hungry? there’s a pretty good diner around the block and i was thinking about a two a.m. breakfast.”
getting into the clock tower wasn’t a hard task for bruce, he’d done it many times over the years and now that it was back in operation as a sort of base in the city, he’d just slipped back into the norm of using it once again. grappling down from the roof, he stepped in and made his way towards the windowed back-side of the clock face and allowed a small smile on his lips as he felt the presence of barbara approaching him from behind. “your father had his cops make an announcement tonight, he also added on a threat to anyone intending crime, did you hear the broadcast?“
for both of their sake, barbara wasn’t going to acknowledge that she was walking around with a coffee pot to drink directly from. instead, she placed it on a nearby ledge when she found bruce in her base of operations and nodded while walking over. “i heard it this morning when he was reading it to himself in front of the mirror, although the threat must’ve been a last minute addition.” she pulled off her glasses to rub her eyes, half wondering if she should just switch now to her contacts for patrol. “you know he’s having a bad day when he starts encouraging us. what do you make of it?”
Selina really did not care less for the message that was sent by the GCPD either way she is gonna do what she wants because no curfew is ever gonna stop her she is on the rooftop looking around the city. “Does the GCPD really think this is gonna work with everything that is going on in Gotham?” she asked herself.
she hadn’t intended to cross paths with selina tonight – there were a lot rooftops in gotham, after all. but the city was busy and at this rate, barbara was certain she’d hit them all at least once, or rather, batgirl would. adjusting her mask for quick moment, she turned to the other woman after overhearing her. “i don’t think they’re really optimistic about it, but they have to try.” she started with a quiet sigh. of course, she knew better than some how the gcpd really felt. “what exactly are you up to tonight? am i going to regret asking?”
✶ — › the bat signal is lit ! is that BARBARA GORDON coming to respond? otherwise known as BATGIRL/ORACLE? SHE resemble(s) LINDSEY MORGAN and are TWENTY NINE years old and might be known for being a HERO. they are KNOWN FOR THEIR EIDETIC MEMORY AND HACKING SKILLS, and that’s what makes them beneficial against the chaos in gotham.
THE BASICS
* NAME/NICKNAMES: barbara joan gordon, babs
* ALIAS: batgirl, oracle
* AGE: twenty nine
* PREFERRED PRONOUNS: she/her
* AFFILIATION: batfam, birds of prey, justice league
* FACECLAIM: lindsey morgan
THE DETAILS
* FAMILY: james ‘jim’ gordon ( father ), barbara kean ( mother ), james gordon jr ( younger brother )
* THREE FAVORITE THINGS: reading, hacking, dancing
* EDUCATION: degrees in forensic psychology, library science, computer science
* SKILLS: expert hacker, genius level intellect, dance & gymnastic training since childhood, trained and excelled in judo, kung-fu, eskrima, karate, kick boxing, and jujutsu
* WEAPONS: grappler, batarangs, batcycle, ... really anything with the word bat in front of it
* ABILITIES: no super powers, but has a natural eidetic memory.
THE QUESTIONNAIRE
WHERE WAS YOUR CHARACTER WHEN THE JOKER TOXIN WAS FIRST RELEASED? HOW DID THEY REACT?
barbara was in burnside when she first learned of the toxin just before it hit the news, simultaneously receiving alerts from hacked satellites she monitors and a very panicked phone call from her father. she was horrified to see what had happened, shouldering some of the blame in that they didn’t see it sooner – that they hadn’t been rid of the joker sooner. with all that he’s done, a deep and rather well hidden part of her regrets that he lives at all.
HOW LONG HAS YOUR CHARACTER BEEN IN OR RETURNED TO GOTHAM? WHERE ARE THEY CURRENTLY STAYING?
for the last year or two, barbara has lived in burnside – a borough just on the outskirts of gotham. and though burnside remains in tact, she left her apartment there to return to gotham and has mostly been drifting since. as far as her father is concerned, she’s staying with him – but admittedly she spends more time at the clocktower, sprucing it back up to it’s former glory.
IF APPLICABLE, HOW ARE THEY CONTRIBUTING TO AIDING GOTHAM IN QUELLING ITS GANG VIOLENCE AND STOPPING THE JOKER? OR ARE THEY CONTRIBUTING TO THE CHAOS OF THE CITY?
babs is admittedly pulling over time. in the day, she’s offered her technological help to the gcpd, keeping their computer systems up and running while updating the security systems at arkham and blackgate. she’s also owner of gordon clean energy and the company is doing what it can to help compensate for gotham’s overpopulation. she pulls over time at night too, helping the others keep a hold on the overwhelming crime rate as batgirl and trying to solve the grander scheme of emergencies as oracle.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
the daughter of gcpd police commissioner, jim gordon, and barbara kean-gordon, and older sister to james gordon jr.
at nine years old, babs realized that she could pass a test without really trying and soon discovered that her memory was eidetic. it’s similar to photographic memory, but she recalls more than just imagery, sounds, smells, and emotions are replayed with accuracy through her memory, it’s a bit of a curse as much as it is a gift sometimes, but usually it’s just overwhelming.
she grew up excelling in school as well as ballet, though she was also enrolled in gymnastics and various self defenses that her father insisted she took.
her mother left them shortly before her tenth birthday, leaving babs feeling both abandoned and confused. it also sparked a more perfectionist nature in her and for years she had a borderline obsessive need to prove herself worthy of those around her.
she thought it would be funny to dress up as batman for a costumed charity event her father was forcing her to go to, seeing as he seemed to gripe about the batman a lot back then. though when the event was attacked and she was put in a position where she could save people, she realized just how much she enjoyed it.
when her father immediately shot down the idea of her ever becoming a cop, she took up the mantle of batgirl, not exactly with batman’s approval but hey she won him over eventually, and has since worked alongside him and the various robins since.
at twenty-two years old, barbara was shot by the joker in an effort to mentally break her father. the bullet hit her spine and paralyzed her legs, forcing her to give up batgirl.
she found a new role as oracle and formed the birds of prey team. she used her intellect to her advantage, serving as the hacker and information expert to heroes all over, and as an occasional member of the justice league.
her little brother is a known serial killer that has tormented her, her father, and her friends on many occasions.
after an experimental surgery, barbara now has a neural implant at the base of her skull that allows her to once again use her legs. after a long period of physical therapy, she’s resumed the role of batgirl.
