Batgirl: Ascension REDUX [CONTENT WARNING! REDUX Has More Action And Smut!]

The Bell of the Ball - Part 2

Lois was still screaming when Barbara put her down on solid ground. Barbara was already stripping when Lois got control of herself. "Shit. And I thought he was fast."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Barbara squeezed into her pants then boots.

"You haven't put it together?" Lois turned her head.

"Not quite sure what you mean." Barbara shimmied into the top and put on her small cowl. "Name's Batgirl."

"Lois." Lois held out a hand, one Batgirl shook with a firm grip.

"Can you handle yourself in a fight?"

"I took a few MMA courses. Know a bit of this and that."

"It will have to do. Robin? How's security looking?"

Silence.

"Robin?" Batgirl frowned. "Nightwing?"

An explosion rocked the whole building. Batgirl caught a falling Lois. Batgirl looked down to see smoke coming out of the doors of the balcony they were just on.

"What the hell."

"There's a signal jammer." Lois took and earpiece from her ear.

"No signals in our out." Batgirl frowned. "This isn't a coincidence, was it?"

"This happens all the time." Lois shrugged.

"But right after Clark left?" Batgirl shook her head and tapped her forehead. "Damnit, Babs. Superman." She grimaced and looked down at the smoke, it was dissipating fast. "I will handle any bad guys. Think you can get to the security room?"

Lois gave her a thumbs up and Batgirl used the grappling gun. Taking Lois in her arms, Batgirl jumped to the balcony. Using her grappling gun, she eased their fall and them tumbled onto the ground. Standing tall, Batgirl and Lois faced the smoke. As it fully dissipated they saw an empty ball room.

They ran forward at the same time and stopped when they got to the doorframe. Batgirl put a hand to her mouth as Lois grabbed her phone.

"Dear god." Lois gasped as she started filming.

"Dad!" Batgirl sprinted onto the floor. "Nightwing!"

The floor filled with dead bodies of the party goers. Batgirl scanned as she sprinted over the possibly dozens of bodies littering the dance floor. Entire limbs were cut off. A handful cut right in half. Their dead eyes staring out to the carnage. There was so much blood Batgirl had to jump and swerve entire puddles of it, as not to slip.

She ran into the hallway across the ballroom. There lay more bodies. They appeared to be fleeing the scene. Batgirl kneeled next to a police officer's body. She gasped when she saw the bullet hole in Officer Chavez's head. There was no exit wound, and with that she saw more dead cops. About eight or so. If her dad was there, they had to be filled with her dad's most trusted officers.

Batgirl held a hand over her hand as she recognized each of these dead bodies. Names she knew: Hector, Cline, Fellow, Grant, Smith-Jenkins, Walters, Blaine. She had grown up with multiple of these men visiting for dinner. She continued down the long hall and pushed through some double doors.

Batgirl froze when she this adjacent ballroom. Much larger than the last, with a second floor overlooking the dance floor there were dead bodies of attendees here. There were more cops, more dead civilians.

"Ah, a straggler." A female voice whispered behind her.

Batgirl turned around quickly to see a black, hooded opponent. She leaned far back as a blade came at her. Barely ducking underneath, it she backed up and threw two flash grenades from her utility belt. She closed her eyes. Her smart earplugs protected her from the sound. Her cowl automatically covered her eyes.

Sprinting the left, she looked towards where her enemy had been. She gasped when they were missing. She looked up and dived. The slash of blade meeting wood hit behind her. Using her momentum, Batgirl planted her hand and turned around. She blocked a succession of three slashes using her gauntlets. Batgirl stood her ground after the third strike and brought her knee up. The woman took a knee to her diaphragm. A loud, "Umph." Batgirl brought her elbow down on the back of the collapsing woman's head. She fell to the floor with a hard thud.

The moment her opponent tried to get up, Batgirl raised her leg high above her came down onto the skull of the assailant. It was then that the woman stopped moving.

"Holy shit!" Lois ran up to her. "Were you even trying?"

"Of course, I was." Batgirl heaved out, between breathes. She bent down and started looting her downed foe. There was nothing but more knives on her. She took off the mask.

"Hmm." Batgirl grunted. "Shit."

"Know her?" Lois asked.

"Yeah. It's Stephanie Brown."

"The dead girl?" Lois raised an eyebrow.

"Not so dead anymore." Nightwing said from a door across the room.

He took a few steps before collapsing, holding his side. He struggled to his feet as Batgirl rushed over to him. He was bleeding. Batgirl reached into her utility built and grabbed the small tube of smart glue.

"Lay down for a second, idiot." Nightwing was quick to obey. He collapsed and rolled onto his back.

"Oh, I did get stabbed. I thought...I thought I'd try that, let him stab you so you can stab him trick."

"Did it work?" Batgirl asked as she pushed the skin together. She had never done this before, but the hours of work Alfred had them simulate this exact thing was about to save his life. She poured the solution into the wound then held the skin together. After thirty seconds she removed her hands and smiled. "You hear me?"

She looked over to see Dick had passed out. She ripped off her glove and placed fingers onto his neck. She felt for a pulse, there was one. It wasn't beating fast, or very hard but it was beating. She breathed out a sigh of relief as she stood.

"What now?" Lois looked around. "Think any of them are still here?"

"They have to be." Batgirl grimaced.

She continued past this ballroom. In the next room, was a living room. It was huge, with massive everything, from TV to couch. There was so much square footage, it was almost cartoonish. There were only about five civilians dead in here. All of them seemed to also have been running away. However, near the bar there were five of the same hooded figures surrounding. Several green arrows stuck out of their rib cages. These one's were not breathing. Batman might be mad at this one.

Soon, a clang of glasses came from behind the bar. Someone popped up, a dark green outfit and hood. He had quiver on his back.

"Green Arrow?" Batgirl asked.

Green Arrow turned quick; arrow drawn. "Ah, the girl one." He relaxed and made two drinks. He handed one to someone behind the counter. "The boy wonder here almost died."

The clanked their drinks together. Jason's voice came from behind the bar. "Is that you Batgirl?"

"Robin. You were supposed to be on security. What happened?"

"I got attacked. Lucky to escape." Robin stood up from behind the counter. There was a huge cut across his cheek. From the chin up to the temple. It looked like he at least used some of the smart glue on it.

"Damn..." Batgirl looked at her friend's face as he took another drink. "Lucky Green Arrow was here. Might be dead myself."

"What about Speedy?" Lois asked.

"Isn't here." Green Arrow shrugged. "Lucky I was in town is all."

"Where'd they go?" Batgirl asked looking around.

"Disappeared as fast as they came. Seemed they were after one man." Robin shook his head. "Bruce Wayne."