Batgirl Begins

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It's been two days since Rupert Thorne was apprehended and more information has come out because of it. Thorne for some reason thought the Mayor and Peter Pauling were trying to kill him. They found Pauling yesterday dead in an alley a few blocks from City Hall due to an anonymous tip... yes it was me. Seeing that... I'd never wish a death like that on anyone...

Each night I've been practicing, since the city has been on lockdown because of the attempt on Hill's life. The more buildings I jump, climb, and dive off, the stronger my body gets. There is less and less pain now, which is great for the party tonight at the Bristol Country Club. Bristol is the area of town where a lot of the richest people live. The rumor is that Bruce Wayne is the special guest at this costume party celebrating my dad's reappointment as Commissioner. I've also been doing some alterations to the suit, making it a little more fashionable, so I can wear it to this party.

I glance at the clock, decide to put on my suit, a little perfume, and make my way to the banquet hall. I sneak out my window and race across the rooftops to the north until I get to the elevated train tracks. I jump down onto the Granton Station's roof and make my way to the edge. I take a deep breath as I see a northbound train coming into the station. When it stops, I jump onto the top of one of the cars and hold onto the edge tightly as it speeds off towards Bristol. When my stop comes, I jump onto the station roof, and continue on towards the country club.

When I enter I can see Bruce Wayne standing on the stage while an officer is giving a speech. Must have missed the introductions... oops... I start to make my way through the crowd as I get a weird, nagging feeling in my gut. Something's off here... I look around and see someone in a bug-like costume. A few feet behind him is someone with the same exact costume. I look towards the exits, seeing more of them. Not good. I make my way towards the stage, enabling my own voice scrambler, which doesn't have the same low sounding frequency as Batman's does... you know, so people know I'm a girl.

I'm a few feet away from the stage when a man in a bluish purple shirt and orange and green striped pants steps onto the stage. The crowd screams as they look at his helmet, which is a creepy green bug face. Ugh... why'd it have to be bugs?

The moth man shoves the officer out of the way and steps up to the podium. Several of the bug costumed people follow him onto the stage, surrounding Bruce Wayne.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am Killer Moth, and I will be robbing you this evening."

I look around, not seeing anyone move to help. There are five maybe six henchmen. I double check that the scrambler is on... it is.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," I shout as I make my way to the side Bruce Wayne is on.

"Well, this is an unexpected surprise... who exactly are you?"

"Your worst nightmare."

"Not exactly a catchy name is it?" He waves his hand at me, "Get her boys."

I throw a smoke bomb on the steps leading down from the stage, causing one of them to stumble and fall. While he's wailing on the ground, I quietly step up and get behind one of the henchmen and kick him several times in the ribs. He falls to the ground as the smoke clears, and the others are all unconscious. Huh, Bruce must have gotten away from them in the smoke. That just leaves the Moth.

"Just you and me now, Mothballs," I smirk.

I could tell the nickname pissed him off, as he charges towards me. I go defensive to see how he fights. I block his punch to my head, a kick to my right, and a knee to my chest. My block spins his back to me, and I instantly put him in a choke hold.

I try to lower him to the ground to knock him out. He sputters and laughs, "One thing you forgot, missy."

"Oh yeah," I say through my teeth, "And what's that?"

His gun goes off, "I don't care about civilians."

"NO!" I yell as I see Bruce Wayne fall to the ground.

My grip slips just slightly, but it's enough for him to get out of it. He stands in front of me with a weird looking gun. It looks like a cocoon on the end. He pulls the trigger, and my body is covered in a web-like material. I struggle to get out of it as I fall to the floor of the stage.

He snickers, "Tough luck, girly. Hopefully I see you again, and we can play some more."

I failed. He's dead. It's all my fault. Come on, Barb, it's not the time for self pity, you've got to get out of here. I drag myself towards the podium and use the corners to cut myself out of the cocoon. I brush myself off and go over to Bruce. It looks like a shotgun blast. I go to take a pulse when his head rolls off. It's a dummy! I look towards the door Killer Moth left from and run towards it.

Suddenly, someone grabs my waist and arms, pulling me into the shadows. I try to struggle out of his grip, but he's too strong.

"Stop struggling, we're here to help," I hear behind me. I'd remember his voice anywhere.

"Robin, where's-" I see another figure in front of me, "nevermind..."

"You need to stop this," Batman grumbles.

"I was just trying to help."

"This isn't a life I would wish on anyone. Stop now while you're young. Let's go, Robin."

"Sorry about him... he can be a little... temperamental."

"Now." Batman's stern voice echoes.

"See ya."

The hold around my waist and arms disappears. "See ya..."

I walk towards the light, ending up right by the door. I sigh, feeling guilty for messing up their operation. I breathe in again and smell my perfume. Oh my gosh! it must have brushed off when I was fighting him!

He went out this way! I quickly rush out the door, ending up in the alley behind the banquet hall. I take another step hearing a crunch beneath my feet. I grab a small flashlight from my belt and look down. Gravel. I shine the light along the alleyway, looking for indentations. Jackpot: tracks, from a human.

I follow the trail around the corner and to the edge of the property. I look up, trying to figure out where he'd be going. There is much more land than housing in Bristol, so the creepy mansion on the hill looks like a safe bet.

As I near the mansion gates, I can faintly smell my purfume on the gate. This must be it. I climb over and follow the scent to a back door leading under the house. I take a deep breath and go through the door. It's dark, but I see a faint blue glow further down the hallway. As I get closer, I can hear Killer Moth talking.

"Good luck getting out of there, Batman. The glass is bulletproof and unbreakable." He laughs.

"You'll never get away with this, Killer Moth," Robin yells.

"I think I did, Robin."

I grab a broom that's in the corner of the hallway just outside the room Killer Moth is in. I remove the head of the broom, giving me a good weapon.

"Not quite." I say as I strike him on one side of his ribs and quickly swing back for the other side. He falls to the ground.

"You'll never be able to free them."

I glance at the control panel, "Really? I think the big switch labeled: Anti-Gravity chamber will do the trick." I flip the switch and watch Batman and Robin safely land on the ground as the chamber door opens.

"Thanks a lot, Mothballs." I whack him in the head, with just enough to knock him out. I slide down a ladder leading to the inside of Killer Moth's lair. When I get to the bottom, I don't see Batman or Robin. Huh, they must have left.

I hear the sound of something rolling across the tile floor. It sounds like it's close by... I feel something tap my foot as the sound stops. It's... a can? Suddenly, a gas shoots out of the sides. I cough as I try to cover my mouth and nose from inhaling it. I feel my legs get weak and fall from under me. Someone catches me as everything goes black.