Batgirl returns to the Batcave to research the Russians and the mystery woman she encountered.
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Batgirl steered her motorcycle down a tunnel hidden from the prying eyes of the Bristol area’s wealthy citizens. It led to the Batcave.
Dick had named the place; as a sixteen-year-old budding crime fighter, Dick had gone so far as to put the word “bat” in front of everything Batman used.
Batcave, Batmobile, Batcycle, etc. It was the kid in him, back when he’d first started working alongside Batman as Robin, the Boy Wonder.
Batman never said not to do it, so it all stuck.
Entering the Batcave, there was a space on a large plateau for Batgirl to park next to Batman’s two other motorcycles (one standard, one his Bat-Pod).
One of Batman’s many Batmobiles sat on a nearby turntable. Lately, he’d been using his modified sports car.
A ramp wide enough for two cars led down to a lower level on which the other Batmobiles — from battle-ready tanks to modified sports cars, to rocket cars — waited for use.
The space between the two levels was a perilous drop to whatever lay at the bottom of the cave.
Parking the bike, Batgirl dismounted. No need to hang up a helmet; her cowl sufficed for that. She headed for the stairs leading to the cave’s upper levels. She heard a colony of bats swoosh overhead.
Batgirl had gotten used to the sound, having worked here in the Batcave for the past two years.
What she’d never get used to was the enormity of the place.
The stairs passed over the expanse of the pit that surrounded the cave’s upper levels. Batgirl always made a point never to look down.
Passing one level, she noted various workout stations, mainly weights but also a sparing area and gymnastic apparatus.
Always up for a challenge, Batman had positioned the parallel bars and the rings across an expanse of the pit. You fall, it could be permanent — just like on the streets of Gotham.
Batgirl turned on the platform at that level and walked up another long flight of stairs. The previous level helped sharpen Batman’s physical talents.
The level waiting for her housed the tools that sharpened Batman’s mental and detective skills.
On the level to the right was a complete forensics lab, stocked with chemicals and equipment that would be the envy of the Gotham Police.
To the right of that was a medical trauma unit, enough to take care of the minor cuts and scrapes a night of crimefighting brings. It also served as an emergency service capable of dealing with the most threatening of injuries.
Not like a vigilante could simply pop into a hospital and not expect to need one doozy of an explanation for their near critical wounds.
Directly across from the top of the stairs was the famed Batcomputer.
A high-backed chair topped with a bat-eared head sat in front of the machine. The machine itself was a six-foot-wide console with a keyboard, touchpad, and various other interactive components.
A large central monitor stood at eye level above the console. It displayed the logo of the Bat within a yellow oval. Other monitors of various sizes grouped around that monitor.
Batgirl knew the guts of the Batcomputer, the servers and the like, were several levels down.
As she walked to the Batcomputer, Batgirl pressed two small release buttons on the back of her cowl. It detached from the neck section of her costume, and she removed it with both hands.
Holding the cowl in one hand, she ran her gloved hand through her shoulder-length red hair.
Batgirl placed the cowl on one of the side panels of the Batcomputer console. She withdrew a cable from the console and attached it to a socket on the cowl.
Removing her gauntlet gloves, Batgirl set them on the console next to her cowl. She moved to the keyboard. Her bare fingers danced over the keys, pulling up a login page on the main monitor.
With her username and password typed in Batgirl looked to a camera-like device to the left of the main monitor. A low-powered laser scanned her face.
The words, “Identity confirmed as Batgirl, a.k.a. Barbara Gordon” appeared on the main monitor, followed by the words “Access granted.” The login screen disappeared, replaced by the Batcomputer’s desktop.
A few more keystrokes pulled up the computer’s video downloading and analyzation program. Batgirl commanded the program to download the data stored from her cowl’s camera.
As the process began, she grabbed her gloves and headed toward another set of stairs carved into the very stone of the cave. They led to the cave’s top level where she’d find showers, lockers for spare civilian clothes and the cabinets of spare costumes.
She removed her costume on the way up. By the time she reached one of the three cabinets for her costume, she was in just the boots, yoga pants and sports bra she wore underneath the armor.
Batgirl placed the costume inside one of her three designated cabinets.
Glancing at the space, she saw cabinets for Batman’s myriad of costumes, as well as Dick’s old Robin costumes. That pang of missing him crept over her face. She shut her cabinet and those thoughts and headed for the showers.
After a shower and change into civilian clothes (more yoga pants and a Valentina Lorena t-shirt), Batgirl — now Barbara Gordon — headed down the stairs and back to the Batcomputer.
She saw a very British gentleman standing by the console, setting the contents of a serving tray onto one of the available spaces.
“I’ve taken the liberty of cooking you some chicken tenders,” the man said. “Grilled, with a side of horseradish sauce.”
Barbara approached the man, giving him a warm hug. His eyes widened at the move. He was a half a foot taller than her.
“I take it the meal is to your liking then?” he asked.
To be continued…
While writing this fanfiction, I used Green Ronin’s Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition RPG, to leave some things to chance. Check it out!
Like this fanfiction? Check out Mark’s original “Shadowdance” saga books!
Copyright Info
DC Adventures, Copyright 2011, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson. It’s now Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition
Advanced Player’s Manual, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing: Author Skip Williams.
The characters Iron Man, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Vanko, Black Widow and Nick Fury are Copyright Marvel Comics
The characters Batman/ Bruce Wayne, Batgirl/ Barbara Gordon, Black Mask, the Penguin/ Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, Renee Montoya, Commissioner Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, Robin/ Dick Grayson, KGBeast and Bane are Copyright DC Comics
The character Juri Han is Copyright Capcom
None of the characters belong to me as this is fanfiction, done for fun, and as a creative exercise.
