Batgirl

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It has been two months since I went up to New York to see... my friend. Honestly, I am somewhat happy. I found it odd, at first, because of how depressed I was, but that night Jason cheered me up on the phone and... now I'm finding myself with a smile on my face thinking about him.

The influx of crime has been insane to say the least. My dad has been keeping me updated, as his daughter; I still have turned in my cowl. Someone did break out all those prisoners out of Blackgate, and targeted the specific wing where the worst of the worst were being held. Batman has been able to apprehend most of them, but there are many more to take their place, and even worse, they still have no clue who did this, since most of the usual suspects were in custody at the time.

My thoughts flash back to the research I did on the man Talia al Ghul warned me about. No idea why she was so frantic and desperate to tell me about this guy... but I have a bad feeling it's all connected. Suddenly, my phone goes off. It's Alfred... why would he call me? It's not like he has the time to call people to chat.

"Hello?"

"Barbara?" Simply from the sound of his voice I can tell something is wrong.

"What's wrong, Alfred?"

"I need you to come down to the Manor," There is a loud crash in the background, and his tone becomes one of urgency, "Right away, please. He is tearing the place apart."

I quickly get into my car and drive towards Wayne Manor. As I am making my way there, my phone starts to ring: Jason. I quickly answer the call through the Bluetooth.

"Hi, honey."

"Hey, Barb... is this a bad time?"

"You know... it is a little bit, my umm... friend that was in the hospital in New York-"

"Oh the one with appendicitis?"

Huh, so that's what I said, "Uh, yeah, he had some complication from the surgery and is back in the hospital so I have to go up there-"

"Say no more, I was going to see if you wanted to get dinner somewhere near the Diamond District, but you should go."

The diamond district? Why would he be there? I brush it out of my mind; I have to get to the Batcave. "Thanks, Jason. Rain check?"

"I'll hold you to it."

I smile as I end the call, but it quickly fades as I step into Wayne Manor. Many of the lights are off, and it smells like burnt food. Alfred would never burn a meal. I race down to the cave to hear a loud yell as soon as the elevator doors open.

"What the hell is going on here?!" I yell as I make my way down the steps and across the ramp to the training area, where there are bits of rock and pieces of training dummies scattered across the floor. Bruce is standing in his costume, cowl down, while Alfred is at the edge of the walkway, hesitant to move towards him.

"DID YOU CALL HER?" Bruce shouts.

"Of course I called her! I thought she could help!"

"NOTHING can help, Alfred!"

"Slow down... what happened?" I ask.

"You ask for her help and don't even tell her?!"

"Well, I couldn't exactly explain the situation with metal and rock clattering about!"

"GUYS! What happened?" I look around... Where's the kid?

Alfred's voice is so soft, almost a whisper, "Young Master Todd was killed... by the Joker."

As soon as the words leave Alfred's mouth, Bruce collapses to his knees. I rush over to his side as he slams his fists into the ground. "It's all my fault," He sighs, "I should have known he would run off after finding his mother..."

"What?"

Alfred steps onto the training platform, "Jason heard about someone who could have been his mother and went to investigate."

Bruce breathes deeply with his head still hung down low, "She was working with the Joker... by the time I got there... I was too late. The bomb had killed them both."

I sit back on my heels in shock. I think back to watching my stepmother, Sarah, fight for her life in the hospital after being brutally beaten. Batman and Robin had intervened then, but this... I cannot even fathom what Bruce is going through.

"I knew he wouldn't listen to me! If I only didn't trust him, he would still be here."

"You can't guarantee that, Bruce. Even if you did follow him, you might have died in the blast!"

There is a long silence, and I can tell he is thinking that death would have been an easier option. Before I can stop it, my anger gets the best of me, sending my palm whizzing across his face.

"Don't you dare think that. Don't you ever think that!" Simply the thought of losing the man I see as a second father brings tears to my eyes, "I know you're in pain. I know you're blaming yourself, but you cannot wish yourself to be with him. Do you have any idea how much pain that would cause to the people of Gotham? To Alfred? To Dick? To Me? As hard as it can be right now, there is nothing you could have done to change his death."

After another deathly long silence, Bruce responds, "I think you should head home, Barbara... I need to be alone..."

I shift my weight to my toes and put my hand on his shoulder, "Just remember you don't have to be."

He doesn't say a word but puts his hand on mine for a lengthy second, letting gravity bring it back down to his side. I slide my hand off his shoulder as he opens his other hand as I stand up. I stare down in sorrow at the black patch with the golden letter "R", not so much for the fallen Robin, but for the Bat who cannot see any light in the darkness.