[A Gamer in Gotham]—❈—15.1:: Interlude:: Ruminations of a Batgirl

Barbara “Barb” Gordon

It was late Tuesday morning, and Barbara Gordon was spending it the same way she'd spent many of her mornings for the last three years; she was getting her ass kicked by Bruce Wayne.

Bruce liked to call it training, and when he wasn't handing the eighteen year old her ass in eighteen different ways, she generally agreed with him. Right now though, he was handing her her ass, so she called it what it really was; physical abuse for the purpose of a greater good. The greater good of course being her continued survival in this line of work that she'd chosen for herself.

And she had chosen it.

Yes, The Joker was a catalyst in her making of the decision, but Barbara had chosen this for herself, by herself.

She had chosen to walk again, despite all the doctors saying that she never would. She had chosen to track down The Batman. And she had chosen to make him train her regardless of how he felt about it.

And now, every time she put on her suit, she chose to do so.

Barbara did not choose to get punched in the stomach by Bruce, but it happened anyway.

She staggered back, creating distance from her opponent and breathing through the pain of the solid blow; Bruce barely pulled his punches when they sparred.

‘Hurt more in here, hurt less out there,’ he always said.

“You're distracted,” Bruce said in his sensei ‘voice’, not to be confused with his every other ‘voice’, which sounded exactly the same, but were totally different, take it from her.

Despite the tone of his voice though, his words and the look in his bright, blue eyes told her that he was open to discussing whatever was on her mind if she wanted.

She shook her head.

“I'm fine,” she said.

She really was. The traumas of her past were, and would always be, a part of her, true, but they did not define her.

Barbara had healed. She'd moved forward, and with every passing day she took another step in that direction…

She looked once again into the bright, blue eyes of the man who had changed her life in so many ways.

…Not like him. No, for him his traumas were sword and shield. They were armour and helm. They were his motivation, and one day, they would likely be his destruction. And that was just terrible, because there was a beautiful, amazing man beyond all the pain and the hurt who she loved with all of her heart.

Able to read her as easily as he liked to pretend she couldn't read him, Bruce saw her thoughts, and a muscle in his jaw twitched.

“Let's continue,” he said, settling into a stance.

Barbara felt a flash of familiar sadness, but she set it aside and settled into a stance of her own.

Alfred walked in.

“Phonecall from The Commissioner, Master Bruce,” the butler announced, offering Bruce a tray with the phone on it.

Bruce picked up the phone, put the call on speaker, and said; “Commissioner?” in his work ‘voice’, not to be confused with his every other ‘voice’.

They were different. Really.

“The name Eugene Berger mean anything to you?” her Dad asked without even a hello.

Sure, Bruce didn't really do hellos, but still.

Bruce looked at her, asking with his eyes if she knew the name.

She didn't.

They both knew it was incredibly unlikely that she would know something, or someone, of importance that he didn't, but Barbara appreciated that he always checked with her when he could.

“Who is he?” Bruce asked her dad.

“So, you don't know him either,” he said, sounding like he'd expected it, but hoped different.

“Not off the top of my head, no,” Bruce admitted, looking like it physically pained him to do so, “but, I can dig into him if you want.”

“Sure, maybe you'll find something that The Police, FBI, and CIA databases couldn't,” Commissioner Gordon said without any sarcasm.

Barb’s brow climbed, and she noted Bruce's interest peak too.

“Dad, who is this guy?” she asked.

“Oh, hey, Barb,” her Dad said. “How was your night?”

“Quiet,” she said truthfully. The lead she and Bruce had followed had been a bust.

“Good,” he said, then as an aside that was very much still audible, he added; “Can't help but worry every time you're out there.”

So says The Commissioner of Gotham PD. Barb resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“The guy, Dad. Who is he?” she asked, getting things back on track.

“He’s no one,” her Dad said. “A ghost. Prints turned up nothing, name turned up nothing, picture turned up nothing. He doesn't exist. It's like he popped out of thin air two days ago.”

“What did he do two days ago?” Bruce asked.

“That's the scary part; he helped a detective find his kidnapped daughter.”

Barb blinked. “Wait, Dad, this Eugene, he's not a criminal?”

“Not as far as anyone can tell.”

Barb and Bruce stared at each other.

A ghost showing up in Gotham and helping the Police? Her Dad was right, that was terrifying.

—❈—

They did some digging into Eugene Berger after that, and, just like her Dad had got, The Batcomputer (a name that still got a scowl out of Bruce whenever she used it) turned up zilch; Eugene Berger did not exist.

Since digital spying was out, they went analog, and by the end of the next day, they had uncovered a little bit more information about him.

And the more they learned, the more confused Barb got.

Who the hell was this guy? Why was he here in Gotham? How did he get into Gotham? Was he recruiting for something? If he was, what was it, and why pick two nobodies like Annie Springfield and LaKeisha Houston for it?

LaKeisha at least has some martial skill, but Annie? What made her special?

More importantly, how did Eugene Berger know what he knew? Why was he using it to do good? Was he some kind of hero hopeful? That seemed unlikely, the first thing practically all of those did was get a costume and a secret identity, but Eugene wasn't hiding. At all. Did he not understand that he was making enemies in record time? Did he not care? Was that the plan? …Was there a plan?

Was it possible that, whoever Eugene was, he was really just doing whatever the hell he felt like, when he felt like?

…

That was unsettling.

Five days later, it got more unsettling, and that's how Barbara found herself keeping tabs on a small office building near the docks that she was sure had been a post office at one point long ago.

There was a sign on the window:

Systematic Solutions

for all your (legal/semi-legal) problem solving needs

Just what the hell was Eugene Berger playing at?

—❈——❈——❈—

A/N:: And that's our first look at The Bats.

In case you're wondering, yes, Gordon knows Bruce and Barbara's secret identities. And no, there is no Robin. Yet. Probably never.

Thanks for reading.