Nightwing & Batgirl: A New Start

Chapter 1

Gotham City always had that cold and dark feel to it. At night, especially. Barbara sat on her bed, earphones plugged in, textbook on her lap as she wrote. As she thought about how she would solve the mathematical equation in the book, she would tap her pen according to some sick beat she was listening to.

The redhead sighed with annoyance before pushing the book off, letting it fall onto the bed. She closed her eyes and just let herself get lost in the music. All of a sudden, her door opened. Barbara pulled one earpiece out and turned her head to see who it was. But she always knew it would be her father. Who else was living with her?

"Barbara," Gordon called, poking his head into the room.

"Hmm?" She replied, raising an eyebrow as she waited for what her dad had to say.

"I need to attend to some urgent work stuff," he says, "Stay safe, alright? If there's anything just text me."

Barbara nodded, smiling at her father as she swung her legs off the bed before proceeding to open the door fully and hugging her dad. She watched the GCPD Police Commissioner exit the apartment.

Barbara sighed, that familiar feeling of worry in the pit of her stomach. She felt it every time her father left for work, not wanting him to be hurt while he was handling some crime or something.

10:58pm

The house telephone rang, shattering the peaceful silence that Barbara had been enjoying for the past couple of hours. She groaned as she made her way to the blaring telephone, cursing under her breath about how no one usually calls this late.

"Hello?"

"Miss Gordon, I am Miss Joyce, there's been an accident," said the woman on the line.

Instantly, Barbara turned a little pale.

"Is it my dad?" She followed up quickly.

"Y-yes," Joyce replied, "He is in a critical condition right now, please, you have to come over."

The nurse's voice sounded very urgent, and upon hearing that her dad had been admitted to hospital, an alarm started ringing in her head. She ran into her room, rummaging through her things and grabbing any change she could find before putting on a simple cardigan and boots before rushing out of the house.

Tonight, her biggest fear had actually happened. Barbara didn't know what she would do if she lost her father. The thought of being alone made her shiver. She hailed the first taxi she saw, and then continued on her way to the hospital.

The ride seemed endless, and despite what she was wearing, she still felt cold. But soon the taxi came to a halt, and Barbara handed the driver the money without bothering about the change.

She broke into a run, bursting through the hospital doors. She brisk-walked to the counter before tapping her palm on the table to get the nurse's attention.

"Excuse me," the redhead asked frantically, "I'm Barbara Gordon, I need to see my f-"

"Father, yes. I was the one who you were speaking to on the phone earlier," the Nurse cut Barbara off. The nurse got up from her chair, leading Barbara down the hallway.

"So, as I was saying, I'm your father's personal nurse, Miss Grace," the nurse spoke.

Barbara tilted her head, eyes narrowed.

"Isn't your name... Joyce?"

"Oh- yes, Joyce," the nurse's expression had changed into a slightly more worried one, and Barbara became more suspicious, "Sorry, I've been working the whole day, I'm a little tired."