Before We Grow

The Gala

"I hate this so much," I muttered, "I hope you know that I really and truly hate this."
    Barbara, who had come over to Wayne Manor to try and get me ready, sighed, "You don't have a choice. You're Bruce Wayne's foster daughter, and you have to attend the gala."
    I pushed down the dress she had forced me into. It was nothing elaborate, just a simple black skater dress with dark floral print. It fell to my knees, and ruffled around my legs. Barbara had forced me into black tights and black flats as well. She was currently putting my hair in a braided crown, to which I had objected.
    Barbara's dress was much prettier. It was long and violet, with white tendrils looping around the skirt and her stomach. She had no sleeves, instead, she had a sweater that only made it down to her chest. Her ginger hair was let down, and flowed in beautiful waves.
    "I could pretend to be sick," I replied.
    "You're going, and that's that, so stop complaining."
    I crossed my arms and humphed. The Wayne Foundation was having some super fancy gala for starving children in a far off country. While I could get behind the cause, the need for a party about it was dumb. It was just a bunch of rich idiots clinking wine glasses and laughing at stupid rich people jokes.
    "Fine," I frowned, "But don't expect me to like it."
    "None of us will."
    She put the final pin in my hair and stepped back to admire her work. I kept a frown, making her frown. Ultimately, she shook her head, "Alright, half way through, pretend to be sick and I'll bring you and Dick home."
    "Really?"
    "Yeah, I don't want to be there either."
    "Then can we go on patrol?" I spun in the seat to face her.
    She shrugged, "I guess so."
    I grinned, jumping up and running to hug her waist. She hugged back, laughing as she did. When we pulled apart, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, "Come on, the boys will be waiting."
    "I doubt it, Dick takes forever to get ready."
    "That's because he admires himself in the mirror."
    Both of us laughed. We left my bedroom, heading to the top of the stairs. Bruce and Alfred were already waiting at the front door. Alfred was helping Bruce tie his tie.
    "You two look nice," Bruce admitted.
    Barbara placed a hand on her chest, "Oh my, a compliment from Bruce Wayne, this truly is a magical night."
    I threw my head back in laughter. Even Bruce chuckled a little. Dick came running down moments later, his tie haphazardly thrown on. When he veered to a stop, he said, "I was looking for my shoes."
    "Sure you were," I retorted, "Looking at yourself in the mirror had nothing to do with it."
    "Shut up, Brimsey."
    Alfred moved to tie Dick's tie. When he finished, he looked at us all proudly.
    "You all better get moving," Alfred stated, "The Gala starts in half an hour."
    Bruce nodded, "Come along, children."
    The three of us followed him out to the car. Barbara took shotgun while Dick and I rode in the backseat. As we drove away from The Manor, Dick leaned closer, "Five bucks says someone gets drunk before the first speech is made."
    "I'll take that bet."
    "Remember, this gala is for a good cause," Bruce warned us, "Anything you do reflects on Wayne Enterprises, and on me. Be on your best behavior."
    Dick nodded while I simply smiled. Bruce glared at me in the rearview mirror. Finally, I nodded as well. Barbara smiled at Bruce, "Don't worry, they'll be model citizens."
    "They better."
    Dick and I glanced at each other. It didn't take long for us to roll up to the gala. There was lots of people, mostly press, standing outside of the hall. They were held back by velvet ropes and security guards. The whole thing reminded me of a Hollywood movie premier.
    Bruce stepped out first, closely followed by Barbara. Dick and I followed behind them. He easily held a perfect smile, and walked with perfect poise. I felt uncomfortable under the cameras. My smile was wonky, and I kept pulling down my dress. I nearly tripped, but Dick grabbed my arm to steady me.
    "Just smile, it's not a big deal," he whispered.
    I frowned. Luckily, we made it into the hall without any issues. Inside, there were just as many people, but not much press. Everybody was in suits and dresses. They were the fanciest people on the planet. Never have I seen so many dresses in one place.
    Bruce went to greet everyone with Dick and I following close behind. Barbara vanished to find her father, leaving us with the tedious task of socialization.
    "Bruce, my man, good to see you," a ginger man walked up.
    Bruce smiled, "You too, Brent."
    The crowd began to greet Bruce individually as well as a group. Dick and I managed to vanish into the background. More precisely, he grabbed my arm and dragged me into the background.
    "It get boring when he starts greeting people," Dick admitted, "Come on, let's find the food."
    I followed him into the dining hall. The floors were so shiny I could see myself in them. Round tables covered in ghost skin littered the room. It was like a scene from a movie about rich people.
    Three long tables lined on the back wall held finger foods and various types of drinks. The alcoholic beverages were at a bar on the opposite wall, where a bartender waited. Several people were already getting drinks, some of them even acted a little tipsy.
    "Rich people annoy me," I mumbled, taking one of the glasses Dick had.
    He sipped his drink, "Yeah, me too. Except Bruce."
    "He annoys me sometimes too."
    "That's true."
    Both of us stood in the back sipping our drinks. Slowly, everyone made their way into the hall. They found seats at various tables, some with plates of food and some with drinks. They were all talking happily amongst themselves.
    "I'm bored already," Dick mumbled.
    I grinned, "Barbara said that we could fake sick halfway through and she'll take us home to go on patrol."
    "Barbara's the best."
    "Definitely."
    I watched as each and every rich person sat at the tables. The waiters shut the doors, which seemed pretty sketchy, but I overlooked it. This was the first time I had ever been to a gala. Mama and Papa went to a few house parties, sometimes bringing me along, but never a gala like this. This was much bigger, and ten times grander.
    Barbara found us a few minutes later. Just as Bruce made his way up onto the stage to start our speech. She crossed her arms, looking down at us.
    "Come on, time to go sit down."
    Dick nodded, following Barbara towards the table. I glanced back at the two waiters who closed the doors. They had large grins across their faces, which I found odd. Still, I dismissed it as nothing, hurrying to catch up with Barbara and Dick.
    As soon as I spun around, I ran head-first into a man. His wine glass tipped, dumping down my head and onto my dress. The chill shocked me at first. In the end, I was left with sticky purple on my face and dress.
    "Oh my, I am so sorry," he apologized, "I didn't see you."
    I wiped my face, spitting out the foul tasting liquid, "It's fine, it's cool, no harm done."
    "But, your dress."
    "I didn't like it anyways. Honestly, don't beat yourself up about it."
    The man smiled. He quickly grabbed a towel from the nearby table and began to help me wipe my face and the floor around me. As he wiped a puddle off the floor, Barbara came up behind him.
    "Already, Lucy?" she sighed.
    I shrugged, "It wasn't my fault."
    "It was mine, I didn't see her."
    The man popped back up, shooting an apologetic smile at Barbara. She glanced between the two of us before sighing, "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up."
    She took my arm and began to lead me to the bathroom. As we pushed through one of the doors, Barbara asked, "You really didn't do this on purpose?"
    "I swear."
    "Alright, let's see if we can at least get the visible parts off."
    She lead me into the bathroom. When we arrived, she grabbed several towels, wet them, and started rubbing my dress. I took some more and began to scrub my face. It rubbed my skin raw, but I got the wine off my face and somewhat out of my hair.
    "What I wouldn't give for Alfred to be here," Barbara muttered, "This is not coming out."
    "Isn't wine supposed to be the worst stain of all?"
    "Yes. In this black dress, it's hardly noticeable, unless you're under the right lighting."
    "That's fine, then."
    Barbara glanced up at me, "The hall is full of lights that will expose this."
    "Okay, less fine."
    She scrubbed harder. I took to rubbing it off of my arms. That took a little more work, but I somewhat got it. By the time I made it halfway down my left arm, a loud popping noise came from the hall.
    "What the-?" Barbara started.
    She stood just in time for both of us to hear more popping followed by several screams. My eyes widened as the voice of one man shouted, "Everybody down!"
    "Those were bullets," Barbara identified.
    I glanced up at her, "Obviously! What are we supposed to do?"
    "Our costumes are in the car, come on, if we hurry we can stop them."
    She kicked her heels off, abandoning them in a stall. The two of us ran out of the bathroom. She grabbed my wrist as we did, pulling me forward quicker. We rushed towards the front door, ignoring anyone else in the hall.
    Barbara dragged me all the way to the car. There, she kicked the side and the trunk opened. Each of our costumes were in a separate case, including Batman and Robin.
    "Bruce and Dick were in there, so it'll just be the two of us," Barbara tossed me my case, "Are your gloves charged?"
    "Fully, and my boots."
    "Good, you'll need them."
    We changed behind a dumpster. I abandoned my already ruined dress inside of the dumpster, and the two of us rushed back in. Being back in my Blitz costume was a relief, especially compared to the dress I just changed out of.
    Barbara and I were met with six guards at the front door. They lifted their guns as one shouted, "Hey! It's Batgirl and Blitz!"
    "Stop playing announcer and shoot!" another exclaimed.
    They began to shoot, but Barbara and I dodged. I jumped onto the shoulders of one, and used him as my stilt to split-kick the other two in the heads. They fell to the ground, their guns cluttering the floor next to them.
    For the last one, I flipped off his head and pushed him towards the wall. With an extra twist to the neck, and he landed head-first. All three were unconscious. Just as I turned around, Barbara burst into the hall.
    Every patron in that hall had ducked underneath the tables. Gunmen scattered the room. The most noticeable person of all was The Joker, who was standing on the stage as if he was about to announce something.
    "Oh, Batgirl, how nice of you to drop in!" Joker laughed, "And-wait-didn't I kill you?"
    "Let me handle Joker," Barbara whispered.
    She began to make her way to the stage, taking out gun men as she went. They all shot at us, but we kept dodging.
    I leapt to the right, attacking two gunmen standing next to each other. They were done in an instant, allowing me to move on to the next. Ten men attacked me at once, but only four of them had guns. I used my gloves on some of them, the shock was enough to make them black out, but not enough to kill them.
    This went on for five more groups of bad guys. With each one I moved to, they just got bigger. It was as if all the henchmen were combining their forces, thinking they could beat me.
    "Blitz, a little assistance!"
    I kicked the last henchmen in the head to spin around to the stage. Barbara was being attacked by at least thirteen different men, all while Joker escaped through the side. I was about to go after him, but Barbara shouted, "We'll catch up to him, we have to protect the people first!"
    "And to do that we have to take out the henchmen," I muttered, "Got it."
    Using my boots as an extra kick, I launched myself into the middle of the group of bad guys. Together, Barbara and I had them down within ten minutes. That left the hall empty of all threats.
    "Is everyone alright?" Barbara asked.
    One man tentatively peeked over the table, "We're fine!"
    "Is everybody present?"
    All of the patrons were coming out from under the tables. My eyes scoured over them, searching for two familiar faces. After three rounds, I didn't see them.
    "You have got to be kidding me," I tugged at Barbara's arm to make her lean closer, "I don't see Dick and Bruce."
    She glanced around as well. One waiter with a bullet in his arm came up to us. He looked terrified, but managed to say, "Bruce Wayne and his son were taken, we couldn't stop them."
    "It's alright, we'll go after them," Barbara stated.
    I pinched the bridge of my nose, "I can't believe this."
    Barbara tapped my shoulder, gesturing for me to follow. We ran out the side door, but Joker and his vans were already gone. Barbara cursed, and said, "Bruce has a locator in his and Dick's jackets. We can go back to the cave and track them there."
    "Lovely," I muttered, "Let's go save Batman and Robin."