“would i be a horrible person if i lured you out of here with a ridiculous amount of cotton candy?” she posed the question as she moved to his side, a knowing smile pulling at her lips. babs really didn’t have to use the cotton candy bait – dick rarely turned down getting to hang out – but it seemed more fun that way. she’d been there for a while now, checking out what was going on before finding those she knew in attendance to take an opportunity to catch up.
the carnival was fun, and there was easily plenty they could do while there, but she also knew it’d be easier to talk if they got away from the crowd for a bit. her back leaned into the wheelchair as she looked up to him. “it’s either that or i kick your butt at the ring toss but i’m sure we have time for both.”
bruce wasn’t one for social interactions and he found that it was…almost useless to make the trip from gotham to new york just to show himself to the crowds and that he was a ‘people’ person. but given the look that alfred had been giving him, bruce let out a heaving sigh and decided that perhaps it was in his best interest to drive down to the other city. “i don’t even care about the holiday alfred,” he protested on deaf ears before making his way down.
once he arrived, he stayed to the quieter parts of the celebration event - getting recognized occasionally and pausing for photos and autographs - before sneaking off to grab a coffee. finding some solace in the coffee shop, he went to take a sip when someone cleared their throat behind him. “look, i know i’m bruce wayne but this isn’t my city. if you want an autograph from a billionaire, tony stark is right out there.” he pointed towards the tower before turning to face the person. “oh, sorry. thought you were a fan.”
it’d seemed like a good idea at the time – get out of her tower and gotham, come see what all the fuss was about here with the party. besides, babs knew it alleviated some of her father’s concerns when she was out doing things other people her age might be doing. but admittedly, she tired of the crowds quickly and quickly got herself into the first coffee shop she’d seen.
barbara let out a quick but amused laugh at his quick assumption. mockingly, she gave a shocked gasp, “billionaire bruce wayne is that you? can i get a selfie?” her impression of some type of fan wasn’t withstanding, but it gave her a good laugh before she wheeled herself around to sit across from him at the table. “i heard you’d be around here somewhere.” she admitted, and not surprisingly – alfred would’ve been the one to let her know. “isn’t the whole point of you being here to be seen, you know, keeping up the image?”
lindsey morgan, she/her, twenty-nine ➜ ➜ ➜ the real enemy is out there, but they don’t stand a chance against BARBARA GORDON and their EIDETIC MEMORY, INTELLECT, & FIGHTING ABILITIES. better known as ORACLE, this MEMBER OF THIS JUSTICE LEAGUE & BIRDS OF PREY/VIGILANTE won’t be caught off guard.
NAME: barbara lee gordon, babs
ALIAS(ES): oracle, formerly batgirl
AGE: twenty nine
BIRTHDAY & ZODIAC: september 23rd, libra
MBTI: infj - t
PREFERRED PRONOUNS: she/her
FACECLAIM: lindsey morgan
for the most part, i follow the comic canon for babs – both pre-reboot and post, with slight alterations to make it work, along with a few other bits of media.
she is the daughter of gotham police commissioner james ‘jim’ gordon and barbara kean, as well as the older sister of james gordon jr. their mother left the family when she was 13, and though babs didn’t know it at the time, it was because her younger brother was showing early signs of what would later reveal him to be a serial killer. ( i.e. he killed her cat, though her mother told her it was hit by a car. ) later, as a teenager, babs would bring a friend along on camping trip and her friend would go missing. as an adult, james jr. would reveal that he’d killed her.
early in bruce’s career as batman, and shortly after dick had become robin, babs was hearing about batman regularly from her father – and most importantly how much he was a pain for the police. so after a disagreement with jim, a teenage barbara thought it would be hilarious to go to the costume party fundraiser for the police department dressed as the bat. but when the event was actually attacked, she instinctively stepped up to help and felt it so natural to her that she took up the mantle of batgirl – much to bruce’s initial disagreement. she eventually won him over. although, babs did differ from the robin’s, as she often set out on her own and looked to the batman for guidance as opposed to direct tutelage.
at just twenty years old, barbara was shot and paralyzed. she’d already temporarily retired from her life as batgirl to focus on college, but on a day home visiting her father, she’d become the target of the joker who was set in a mission to torture her father. although, that’s all i really want to say because we don’t need to talk about how gross the killing joke is.
she found a new strength in herself and rebuilt her vigilante lifestyle as oracle, the eyes and ears for all superheroes. aside from her natural crime-fighting abilities, barbara is a well established genius – with a niche in computer hacking and pattern finding. she became the founder of the birds of prey with the black canary and a member of the justice league.
eventually, her father would find an experimental surgery that gave barbara the chance to walk again by planting a chip in her brain. though she was content and fulfilled in her life regardless of her wheelchair, she could see the guilt her father carried over what happened to her and hoped that the surgery would alleviate that for him.
for some time, babs was able to walk again and even resumed a life as batgirl. though she appreciated it, she soon learned the risks after an enemy used the chip in her head in an attempt to hack her brain and access her memories. because of her time as oracle, she has extensive knowledge of most people’s secret identities, and she couldn’t risk that information becoming public and endangering so many. barbara made the choice to turn off the chip and return to her life as oracle, but grateful for the time she had. while, in theory, she could turn the chip back on in an emergency, it isn’t likely with the risk it could pose.
