Batgirl

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Did she say why she couldn't tell me herself?" Bruce asks.

My brain freezes, "Uhhhh..." The Bruce I know would ask me to find out all I can about this Bane guy, not ask why an informant came to me instead of him.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Bruce," I call as he turns away, "She didn't have to say it, but I think it has to do with her feelings for you."

This has his attention, although he is trying not to show it, "How do you mean?"

"Well, uh... she was a little frantic, which is out of character for an assassin, especially Talia al Ghul."

He smiles, "Good, gold star for the day."

I can't help but feel like that smile was more because of my inference about Talia than about my ease to spot it. When she did come to me the first time, she called Bruce her beloved, maybe he feels the same way but is torn because of her father's motives. I shrug, who knows.

As I make my way towards the elevator, I notice someone in the sparring ring. I see Bruce grapnel over to the platform and wave me over. Uh oh... As I get closer, I see Bruce standing next to a boy, who is maybe fourteen or fifteen. He has light blonde hair and piercing eyes, just looking at them you can tell he has had it rough.

"Barbara," Bruce says as he puts his hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'd like you to meet Jason Todd, my newly adopted son."

"Hi," The boy says, clearly not enthused.

"Nice to meet you, Jason."

"Yeah, yeah, you too."

He goes back to working against Bruce's latest addition to the ring: mechanical dummies. I step back and observe, like I would when I was studying the lower ranks in my martial arts classes. He and Bruce have been working for a while because I notice the similar technique, but there is a clear anger and fierceness to his fighting that I know did not come from Bruce's teachings. Not being able to harness his anger and not let it control him could be detrimental, and he could even kill someone if he does not learn.

"So?" Bruce asks as he comes to my side.

We are out of Jason's earshot, and I tell it to him straight, "He's very angry."

"So was Dick when I first took him in."

"This is different, Bruce. I may not have fought with Dick when he first came here, but I do know that he could control himself. With Jason... I don't know, I think there's the possibility that he could actually kill. But that's just me, the decision is ultimately yours."

He nods. I think he was worried about the same thing and asked me, hoping I would prove him wrong, "Thank you for your honesty, Barbara."

I smile and give him a hug, "Anytime, Bruce."

For the first time in a while, I am honestly happy. Things are seemingly getting back to normal, or my mind just has a lot to think about with Bane and Jason Todd. I change into my Batgirl suit which is constantly evolving as I learn to use all the different gadgets. I hunch over the Batcomputer, searching the database for any information about Bane as Bruce is training Jason. Nothing?! How does his database come up with nothing?

I quickly search for news stories for anything abnormal. After what seems like hours, I find something. A prison in South America was found abandoned in Santa Prisca where locals say that a monster escaped and killed many inmates and officers. A monster? What?! I should look for stories like this more often. You never know what could pop up.