conflict and compromise / barbara gordon

assurances

Assuredness was something she lacked, Wenlock knew, she had always been an insecure person. It had taken a super-intelligent AI streaming clarifications and reports in her ear for two full years before she could assure herself that no vigilante was stalking her through the streets, to her classes, and at her cafes. Then she found out that there had been a vigilante stalking her in all those areas, at least, passively and the paranoia started all over again.

She found whatever she counted as being assured in her science. If she didn't know who was watching or society's plans for her, she would always know that a rock was made of these chemicals and that a human had a specific genetic makeup. Then, she thought humorously, she found out that magic existed, and now her science was also in disarray.

Tilting her head back to look at the rare sight of stars on a Gotham night, she sat on the bench on the rooftop of her apartment complex. Putting on a pair of headphones she turned up the music, tuning out the eerie Gotham night sounds and starting to concentrate. She liked running through her plans every night, repeating them like a mantra until it was ingrained in her head until it was what she defaulted into thinking towards during the day. It was nice, she thought, it was a break she needed every night when the noise of rock formations and quantitative genetics in her mind started to make her want to scream, not to mention the paranoia of Barbara finding anything out. There was a serenity, she supposed, in committing oneself to their goal, to be able to tune out the world for a singular topic, and so she sat there, just her and her stolen super AI. 

Feeling a poke on the shoulder, she turned and stared into the mask of the Black Bat.

♡♡♡

Barbara liked assurances, fake or real. It was how she lived, how she convinced herself to go out on patrol every night. Where Steph or Jason would use bravery or rage, she would use lists, an assurance that she had everything she needed, to convince herself to jump off a roof of a twenty storey building. Batarangs, check, communicator, check, smoke bombs, check, grappling gun, check, and she was off, gliding into the night without so much as a deep breath. 

Twenty minutes she crossed paths with Black Bat, Cassandra noticing her first, falling in line with her before she had even noticed her presence. This area, the streets surrounding Gotham University, was under high surveillance, and most students were already being scanned for any sign of animosity against vigilantes. It was a very flawed scan, they all knew, with Anarky's beliefs running rampant and the divide of opinion on their vigilante group specifically, but it was the only thing they had to work with. 

A hand signal from Black Bat caused her to skid to a halt, following her gaze towards a low rooftop across the street, stopping at the sight of Wenlock, her face illuminated by the moonlight. Pausing for a second, she took in the peaceful, almost serene look on Wenlock's face, before turning to continue on the designated patrol path. But then she caught, in the corner of her eye, a flash of black, and then Black Bat was gone, swinging across the street towards Wenlock. Cassandra had never really cared for their secret identities, and, she thought, she would have to go as well to make sure Cass didn't give too much away, not that she was fully against seeing Wenlock, she thought in the back of her mind as she pulled out her grappling gun.

Barbara landed silently on the rooftop, standing up stiffly and allowing her cape to flow around her shoulders. She knew this would make her look more squared and stiff than normal, and she hoped this would lessen the chance that Wenlock noticed her, though a thought at the back of her mind whispered that she might prefer if Wenlock figured it out. 

"FUCK," she heard Wenlock shriek as Cassandra poked her, almost falling off the bench as she windmilled her arms to keep balance. 

She stifled a smile as Wenlock righted herself, pushing down the instinct to ask if she was okay.

She watched as Cassandra pointed to Wenlock, then made a thumbs up quizzically, asking if she was okay. Wenlock seemed to catch on quickly, taking off her headphones and giving her a, "yup," before looking at her confused, "so uhhhh, what..?"

 "Just checking around," Cass whisper-talked back, "not a lot of people up here at this time."

"I-I'm fine, just surprised a little," She liked Wenlock's nervous laugh, "uhhh," She watched as Wenlock glanced at her, then back at Cassandra, "what's up with her?"  

Cassandra merely gave a shrug, then motioned for Barbara to come over to say hi. Oh she was going to kill Cass for that.