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Post by Countess on Sept 4, 2024 4:57:14 GMT
Barbara has been jogging for a couple months now, ever since she had gotten through physical therapy. She has gotten further and further every time, chasing a high she used to be able to get all those years ago. It had been something she loved, running through Gotham. She remembers those excursions, just excuses to be on the streets helping people during the day. While New York has its fair share of crime, it isn't like Gotham. There, it seemed almost... accepted and celebrated. Here, daytime crime isn't something you see on your daily jog. If she does... well, she is certainly on the look out, and ready to do something about it like she always used to.
Columbia hoodie, yoga capris, sensible shoes, airpods tuned into the Justice League's radar in one ear and last week's lecture in the other... It is a comfort to have it, listen to it and know every word already. Something about it just feels right. The rhythm she needs for jogging. Mentally, she tracks her progress based on how far into the class she is...
Hells Kitchen. It is her furthest she has gotten. Three miles from her apartment near the school. Now all she needs to do is be able to turn around, and keep doing it. Never stop. If she stops, she hears those clicks, the sounds of a camera-
Barbara stops her running, bending over and breathing harder than she should. The lecture. Slip back into the lecture. Let it go. It isn't here. It isn't happening. Moments like these, she feels almost insane. Almost. But she has control, always has control...
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Post by Bixir on Sept 4, 2024 5:24:33 GMT
Hell's Kitchen. It was... well, Hell was in the name, wasn't it? Flash couldn't add much to the place that hadn't already been said. We had been here for a while now, and it still felt... wrong? That didn't feel like the word for it. It was like we were still stuck in that nightmare, and we weren't ever going to wake up. The worst part was that it didn't even feel that awful. We didn't feel like we were about to die or get eaten from the inside out or anything like that... just a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomach that never went away.
Maybe that was why we were out and about. Trying to get away from that feeling. It wasn't like we had anything better to do right now. There weren't too many people around. Most people didn't stay in Hell's Kitchen long, if they came at all. Our eyes drifted to a woman who ran by him, then stopped just a bit ahead. She looked... huh. Flash narrowed our eyes, taking a moment to process. That hair, her clothes... was that that girl from the support group? What was her name? Sandra? No, that wasn't it. She was nice. Her story had resonated with him. To think she had come back from that... damn. Huh, we thought she didn't live around here.
...
We thought she couldn't walk again.
Our hands clenched white against the handles of the wheelchair. Was this seriously what we were dealing with today? We didn't fucking think so. "H-Hey. HEY! Flash started pushing himself forward, as quick as his arms could carry him. It would still take us some time to reach her, but not much. We didn't exactly care if this was out of line. The fucking gall.
We were dressed similar to her, a beat-down hoodie, and jeans going as far as the stubs below our waist permitted. We could feel our facial muscles tensing up with anger. Good. "Are you Barbara Gordon? From the F.E.A.S.T. support?!" We looked pointedly at her legs, standing firm on the ground, then back to her face. This oughta be good.
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Post by Countess on Sept 4, 2024 18:43:02 GMT
Flash catches up to her rather easily. Barbara doesn't hear him at first, focusing on breathing normally instead of the great gasps she is getting closer and closer to doing. She pulls out the ear buds at the last moment, trying to feel less constrained and like the air really is just right there. A few more deep breaths, and she has a handle on herself again. A weak grip, but a grip nonetheless. She swallows, a sheen of sweat on her and a sickliness that goes beyond the physical. All she has to do is-
"Flash?" Barbara says, knowing that voice even before she turns around. There is a moment of elation- a grin tugging at her lips. She hadn't seen him in months, ever since... oh, fuck.
"I- wow, okay-" Barbara says, blinking a few times. "I know this looks bad," she starts, looking down at her own legs for a brief moment, then up to him. Well, it looks worse than bad. Barbara looks fucking insane right now. She looks like someone who lied about being paralyzed, then went to a support group for it, taking resources from people who actually deserved it. She had told her story, too, the whole of it. Granted, it had been done in bits and pieces... Even showed her scars. It had helped her get through some of her hardest moments. It was a way to keep her head above water. Plus, the Justice League had told her she would be forced into more time off if she didn't do something.
Thank god she has a story.
"Look, this is going to sound crazy, so..." Barbara says, fishing out her phone from her jeans. "Please just bear with me. I wasn't supposed to- to walk, ever again. Medical Science couldn't help me," she continues as she pulls up a news article. It has paid dividends since its release. She, as Barbara Gordon, had a publicish persona. She had gone to school and F.E.A.S.T., though that was really about it for the public side. Can't really say, "Got better!" to her fellow classmates...
"Just- just read this," Barbara says, offering him the phone. If he takes it, it is a piece on Barbara getting kidnapped, magic involvement, and a healing from the mage that saved her. The truth was... far more complicated than that, by the time the Tattooed savior had arrived, Barbara had beat the shit out of her ex, Charles Dante. He seemed a bit sheepish about taking so long, and offered to... help out a little.
"Remember my boyfriend at the time? Well... he is actually some asshole that goes by Spellbinder. Ex, of course," she says, huffing a humorless laugh.
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Post by Bixir on Sept 4, 2024 22:22:21 GMT
Flash stared blankly at the phone Barbara put into our hands. As if it was supposed to excuse what was going on, what we were feeling. We read it... then we read it again. It hurt even more on the second time. It made sense in this fucked up world, maybe, but where did that leave us? We tried to read this article a third time... and couldn't finish it. That was that. We sighed, holding the phone up for Barbara to take, then fell back into our chair. The sudden movement was enough to send us rocking for a bit, but not enough to actually go anywhere. Where would we go?
Flash took a deep breath, looking up at Barbara from our wheelchair. "Uhh, well... congrats. I- I'm glad you got what you.. wanted..." Our eyes went askance for a moment. "Asshole ex notwithstanding." Our face twitched. Don't you dare. Not in front of her. She'll just look down on us.
"So..." We fidgeted with our hands in our lap. Eye contact was hard. "What have you been up to, now that, uhh... ... other than running, I mean." We didn't exactly try to maintain eye contact, either. The last thing anyone needed to see was one more loser crying "woe is me" on the curb.
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Post by Countess on Sept 4, 2024 22:34:57 GMT
Barbara breathes the longest sighs of relief. Thank fuck, okay, next hurtle. She takes the phone back, and she realizes why she had been avoiding the group. She was... a survivor. She got something none of them did, and she didn't even think to ask for them to get help, too. "It... wasn't really what I wanted," Babs confesses. She lifts her shirt, and that scar from before is... gone. Her face twists a little. "Doesn't change what happened," she says. Nothing will erase what happened.
"If you like, I could get Charles to kidnap you next time?" Barbara offers, laughing a bit hollowly. "Just dye your hair, give you a set of tits, that's his type," she murmurs. "Vulnerable women," she adds, only to start hugging herself a bit. It isn't even that cold out.
"Well... all the same, honestly," Barbara says, thinking about it. "Still keeping myself busy. Still going to school. No boyfriend, but... I mean, that kinda is a part of the story that tells itself," she says, laughing a bit. "You wanna... get some coffee? Catch up? Everyone always acts like its this... I dunno, upgrade, like I'm better now, but... I am just doing what I was doing before. I'm not different. I just... run now. And trust men less," she adds, laughing again. All of it is hollow.
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Post by Bixir on Sept 4, 2024 22:50:26 GMT
Flash nodded, solemnly, when we saw her show the scar that... wasn't there anymore. Damn. Magic was something else. We remembered when she had shared it at F.E.A.S.T. You don't forget that sort of thing. Not if you're the sort of guy who pays attention. We looked like we wanted to laugh at her joke. It's our kind of fucked up. But... we don't. We probably looked uncomfortable while we tried to hold it in. Or constipated. Flash cleared our throat. We needed to get past this.
"Yeah, life just... goes on. Y'know? No matter where you are." We force ourselves to smile. It comes easier than it usually does. "Sure. I could use some joe. And hey - you can trust a guy who can't keep up with you! Hahah-ow." We reached for the cramp in our side. Still easing off from last week's incident. Flash looked over at the corner shop. You couldn't turn around in this city and not find one of those things. We relaxed our arms at either side, ready to start moving ourselves.
Don't be stupid. A crease comes across our brow. A painful memory. People are allowed to be kind.
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Post by Countess on Sept 4, 2024 23:16:06 GMT
Barbara smiles, actually kind of excited for this. "Good, I... I really missed you- guys," she says, stumbling over her words. She thought they were friends- but she was the one that didn't come back. He doesn't need to know- well, it doesn't matter. She was hoping to get him to laugh at her jokes- they always had that in common before... this. But she gets it. Just... get through this, see if... if maybe-
"You are from the Kitchen, right?" Babs says, looking at the nearest coffee joint. "Where do you suggest? I am just a sweet, sweet uptown girl, but you know the lay of the land. So..." she says, trailing off again. She is trying to test the waters, see if that same... relationship is there. "I am going to hold you personally responsible if the coffee is shit," she says, shrugging. Her eyes go to him, looking for his reaction...
It goes without saying she isn't helping him. She remembers what it was like for people to just... take control of her wheelchair. Better to be side by side. But- a nag-
"You okay?" she asks, in that... real tone. Sometimes she has it, cutting through the everything of it all. "Are you hurt? I've-" she starts, then cuts herself off. Why would she know first aid, in real life? She is studying to be a lawyer, not a doctor. "Get hurt?" she asks, knowing those winces. Damian always tries to hide them.
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Post by Bixir on Sept 5, 2024 1:20:48 GMT
Flash smiled back. "You too." We sounded genuinely happy about that; because we were. It was good to know that it was mutual. Subtly, or perhaps not so subtly, we especially feel at ease when Barbara didn't take (or offer) to help with our wheelchair. She had to know what that meant to us... what it had meant to her, once upon a time. She hadn't changed at all. Sometimes, it was good not to change.
The pain quickly passes. The memory doesn't. Pinned to the wall, face to face with a screaming nightmare. Dull yellow claws rip into his stomach, and tear. It looked much worse than it felt... eventually. "Yeah. I'll live." It's not a lie, technically.
We glanced back at the nearby coffee shop. Definitely not there, then. "Forest Hill, actually. But, I've been in the Kitchen for a while now. There's a much better place a few blocks down." He left out the "C'mon" and started moving down the first of several sidewalks. "Are you still doing school? Lawyer stuff, right?"
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Post by Countess on Sept 5, 2024 20:47:32 GMT
Barbara can feel her smile gentling, soft and genuine. She really had missed him. Already, she is walking in step, following with her hands behind her back. "Careful, I might think you have feelings," she says, testing an inside joke. She wants to make sure she can still make that joke, still be a part of who they were together. In a lot of ways, she feels off kilter. She hadn't expected to run into anyone from then... she was kind of running from them. The same way she had run from Gotham. If she hadn't been almost finished with her schooling... Barbara knows she would have run from this, too.
He will live. Barbara cannot stop herself from rolling her eyes at him, like she might do to Dames or Dick. "Sure, sure," she says, clearly not buying what he is selling. She throws some caution to the wind. "I am no nurse, but I know basic stuff, if you want me to look at it?" she offers. Ball is in his court, now. It may open her up to some questioning... but she can field those if they come. Best to be vague.
"Yeah, lawyer stuff. Almost done with the schooling part, the bar exam is next. I am going to take it in a few states, make sure I qualify for federal," Barbara says, as if that is completely normal. Little does he know, she also wants to dip her toes into international law. Someone has to represent the Justice League, right? In her weird trajectory of her life... she sees herself following the path of Bruce. Sometimes the best change you can make is to the policies and system itself.
"What about you? What have you been up to lately? Anything new? Any...one new?" Babs asks, casual.
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Post by Bixir on Sept 8, 2024 22:18:37 GMT
Flash smirked back at Barbara, thinking. Catching feelings. That would never happen between them. That'd be so weird, right? Who would do that? Several emotions played across our face in real time, plain for Barbara to see. That had been their rapport in the past. It was as if no time had passed at all. It was nice.
We weren't expecting Barbara to not let our pain roll over, even though everyone else did. Flash blinked, nearly stopping our wheelchair before continuing to move. "Oh! Uhh, it's, it's fine, really. ... thanks." That was terrible. Now something's totally up.
And yet, in the next moment, we picked up on that something to turn it into something else. Flash narrowed our eyes, not unlike how Barbara had looked at us just now. "Oh, was there anything else? Run for Congress, world peace? You're a one-woman army, Barbara Gordon."
Our smile falters. "Me, I'm... here." We quickly gestured to ourselves - mostly the wheelchair. "Living, I guess. I still go to F.E.A.S.T. sometimes, see the people there. But- not a people. I mean, not a person. Not a person like that. I'm not... We cleared our throat, wanting more than nothing else to be swallowed up by the curb in a freak Graboid attack. "But- I could if I wanted."
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Post by Countess on Sept 8, 2024 22:45:44 GMT
Damn, it is all still there, isn't it? Not that Barbara would have ever done anything, she had been dating Charles at the time. She remembers very, very clearly the pain Dick had caused with Kori. The second guessing, the insecurity, the never feeling like enough. Well- considering how things went down, maybe he could have had some of that. There is a hint of malicious pettiness, but then it fades. She isn't one for revenge.
Barbara gives him the patented Mother Look. She had perfected it over the years, especially after Tim had shown up in their lives. It perfectly conveys, "Is that really your answer?" and "You will stop that this instant... or else." She doesn't say anything- usually, she doesn't have to. The look speaks for itself.
"Congress?" Barbara asks, then laughs a little. Knowing her, she would get appointed to the Supreme Court under Bruce Wayne, the President. "Maybe. Who said it... 'World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.' I think that is where I would start. Oh, and sweeping policy reform,” she adds, laughing a little.
Babs feels a little pleased he isn't seeing anyone like that. The tips of her ears get a little red. Play it cool, Gordon.
"Shame, you really are a catch," Barbara says, still testing those waters. She hadn't expected things to go... this direction. Better than getting yelled at for faking a disability, she supposes. "I'm surprised you aren't beating them off with a stick," she says, not laughing, not making that a joke. It isn't.
"How's the job?" she asks, wanting to get a better picture of his life, his day to day.
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Post by Bixir on Sept 11, 2024 5:15:38 GMT
We remember "The Face". We knew it well, when we had been in group, whenever we had decided to be a little more candid with our thoughts than we meant to. The leader had done it too, but no one quite did it like Barbara. We had no idea if she had little brothers or took care of her dad or what, but that girl had a practically superhuman intuition for these things. And there it was again. Flash immediately relented. "...You can take a look at Shirley's when we get there. That's the coffee place." She had that look too.[
We smirked. "That's my night job, Bab- bara. Ahem." We cleared our throat, poorly. We had called her that before, usually in one of our many back-and-forth games that we played during lulls in sessions. Nicknames or whatever. That was normal. Everyone did that. We couldn't remember what she called us, though. It was probably something dumb.
Flash slowed our wheelchair, long enough to consider how best to respond. Instead, we looked and turned to the right, where a ramp led to a door. They were here. "We're here! And, uhh, fine. Just desk stuff. That's basically your life, right, Miss RBJ?" Was it still hip to make that reference? We had no idea. We felt like we were perpetually several years out of date - if not for the tours, then for our own disconnect. Either way, Flash was ready to head inside. He waited for her to go first... but not for too long.
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Post by Countess on Sept 13, 2024 0:12:13 GMT
Barbara doesn't have the want nor the will to reign in her satisfied smile. The Mother Look gets another one. Now, all she has to do is get it powerful enough to affect Damian... That will be a monumental task, but she has time and proximity now to hone it. She shall take this training on, for the good of the family.
"That's all I ever wanted," Barbara says, still smiling. She's sure it can't be that serious- what could Flash possibly get up to?
"Your night job is beating them off with a stick?" Barbara reiterates, then laughs, something genuine and from the belly. "Phrasing," she adds in between laughs, going up to the front door and holding it open for him. It is simply good manners, not a comment on anything else, anything lacking.
Once she finally settles in her laughing, she makes sure to take a deep breath. "Whew, needed that," Babs says, wiping away a tear. "Now I know who to hire for my friend's bachelorette party," she adds, snickering. There is no such friend, but the tease is there. She goes in after him, looking about. The place has a nice energy.
"What do you want? Its on me- I'm the one that gave you that scare. Figures I could buy you a drink to make up for it."
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