Justice League Femme

Chapter Sixteen: Batgirl

The door creaked a bit too loudly when I came in late that night. I had tucked away my Batgirl outfit into my backpack.

"You're coming back this late?" Dad sat in the living room right next to the fireplace. He had a blanket pulled over him, with a book on his lap.

"I was out with Alysia," I lied.

He moved his head slightly to the side. "With that backpack?"

"We have an exam on Tuesday, so we decided to study at the Gotham Library together. Then, we went to grab dinner."

"Barb, you know it's dangerous to be walking around late at night in Gotham," he said.

"Says the commissioner of the GCPD."

He chuckled. "Well, you do have me there."

I walked over to him. "Why aren't you at the police department anyways?"

Dad sighed before getting into a coughing fit. Even against the fire's orange glow, it was clear to see how much paler Dad had become. "I called in sick." He cleared his throat. "In fact, a lot of the guys on the force have called out sick. It's mainly detectives McKenna, Sawyer, and Montoya."

"Melody, Maggie, and Renee?" I asked.

He nodded. "They've been doing a good job taking the helm as far as I know."

I felt a pit in my stomach. "But Melody McKenna?"

"She is terrific on the force."

I sighed. "You do know she's against the vigilantes of Gotham, right? Including your friend, Batman?"

"She has her reasons, Barb," Dad replied, "I mean, Batgirl came back a little clumsy since that weird three-year hiatus she had and it backfired on the GCPD, especially McKenna."

I felt a pang in my stomach. It sting like a wasp. I frowned lightly at this, but tried to cover it up with a straight face.

Suddenly, he let out a chuckle. "Speaking of which, there's been an odd uptick superhero/vigilante sightings here in Gotham from what I heard."

My eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

"From what I heard heroes and vigilantes that usually aren't in Gotham have been coming around."

"Really?" I asked, "like who?"

Dad looked over at the fire. "Supergirl has been flying around for starters. Wonder Woman's been seen in the streets. Even this new breacher guy has popped in and out of the city."

"Vibe," I corrected immediately, not even thinking.

Dad looked back up at me.

"I mean," I said, "from what I've heard, he goes by Vibe." There was a slight pause. "He's kind of a hot topic back at Gotham State."

"Whatever the case, " Dad replied, "the vigilante sightings have been on the rise and the people of Gotham are unnerved."

"The people of Gotham or the GCPD?"

"Well, it can't just be us." He paused for a second. "The others at GSU must have some opinion about what's been going on in the city, right?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. The only person at GSU who I really hang out with is Alysia. Sometimes Frankie."

Suddenly, Dad let out a cough. It was coarse and deep.

I frowned at this. "Please tell me you've gone to the doctor already."