NOTE: This is based off several things You'll see what they are as you read. Also, some facts are based off of what I've gathered from the "Batman Beyond" shows. What's Going On? By: Carmen Wayne (Nephisis7@aol.com) *** Chapter One (Confusion On the Half Shell) Barbara Gordon wrapped her arms around Dick Grayson's neck and pulled him close. They slowly moved to the rhythm around them from his loft speakers. She smiled and rested her head on his chest. "You realize that we're sealing our fates by doing this," she whispered. "If we're caught" "I realize that How can I not?" he asked, lifting her chin so their eyes met. "I wouldn't have it any other way." "You're so romantic all of a sudden It brings back memories." "Good ones, I hope." "Almost all good. A few are a little Shady, though." Dick pulled her as closely and comfortably as she could fit next to him. "Have a question." "Yes?" "You ever dream about Robin?" "When you were Robin, I hope is what you mean." "D-uh. Well?" She placed her hand to his cheek gently but firmly. "Every night." "Well That's good to hear." He let her hand guide his lips to hers gently. Just as their lips touched, there was a huge flash around them. Their eyes snapped open and spun to see Tim Drake with a Polaroid camera, laughing hysterically. "OH MAN! Wait 'til Bruce sees these!" he said. In his hands were several pictures he had taken without the flash and the newly developed one that had the flash. "DRAKE!" Barbara screamed. She ran for him. He yelped and ran for the door. Dick followed Barbara quickly. Tim shoved out the door and slid down the walls of the narrow staircase. He flipped to the bottom and booked for the elevator. Barbara and Dick were not far behind. Tim went for the opening elevator in a mad dash, but then skidded to a stop, eyes wide. There stood the Joker with a gun. "Bruce Wayne's little brat. Cute," the Joker smirked. He fired, hitting Tim in the stomach. Tim flew back and crashed into the ground. "NO!" Barbara screamed, running to his side. Dick ran angrily for the clown, but the doors shut before he could get there. Barbara pressed into Tim's wound to stop the bleeding. Dick ran down the hall to use a neighbor's phone. Tim's breaths became raspy as he gazed up at her. "Duh-don't be too mad at the pics Babs" he breathed out. "Shh," she breathed, tears forming. "Don't worry about the pictures Oh, God Tim I'm so sorry" "Babs?" Tim asked, his face illuminating in a magenta light. Barbara looked at her arms to see she was starting to fade in that color. Before she could say anything, she was gone from sight. **** "This, Robin my boy, is an AWESOME car," Superboy announced. He sat in the passenger seat of Robin's sports car. Robin sped down the street as he flipped through the radio. "Yeah. Batman gives me a GOOD allowance." "I'll say! Aw, man! I should borrow this sometime--Check out the redhead!" Robin slowed the car and looked to where Superboy was pointing. A redhead young lady staggered from an alleyway, holding her head. She wore a gray skirt and matching top. She also wore knee high leather boots. "Something's wrong with her" Robin said. "And she looks some how familiar too Here," he said, handing Superboy a microphone. "Press the button. It'll connect you to Oracle. Ask her to trace our position and call Nightwing. I have a feeling about this one" He stopped the car and got out, walking towards her carefully. He learned not to rush into a situation involving a lone woman, or else he might get smacked. "Ummm Miss? Miss, are you okay?" "Robin?" she asked, looking him over. "Wh-where AM I?" "You don't know?" "One minute I was holding Tim Drake's gun wound Then I vanished and woke up in this alley. Why are you dressed up like Robin?" "Why don't you come here," he said. He led her over to the car by the arm and let her sit on the hood. He brought out from under a seat a fingerprinting device and laid it beside her. "What's that?" she asked. "Place your hand flat on the surface, all right? It'll only be a brief second" She slowly did so. He pressed a button and a light scanned her palm. The screen next to the scan side bleeped on and gave him the readouts. His eyes widened. "Barbara Gordon?" he asked, his eyes shooting to her. "Is this Gotham?" she asked. "Uhm, KID!" he yelled. Superboy shot over next to them and smiled to Barbara. "What can I do you for?" "What the? Super *boy*?!" she exclaimed. Her eyes shot to Robin and she snagged him by his suit. "Where the HELL am I?! Where's Kara?!" The two looked surprised at the mention of that name. "Well?!" "What.. What year do you come from?" Robin asked. "Two thousand, why?" Robin looked away, thinking hard. "That simply can't be..." "You can call me Kid or Kon," Superboy said flirtatiously. "Heh, I don't go for minors," Barbara smiled. "What's going on here?" they heard. The three turned to see Nightwing standing there. Robin shoved Superboy out of the way and went to Nightwing. "My scanner says she's Barbara Gordon," he whispered. "But how can that be?" "Past self?" "No. She comes from this year!" Nightwing narrowed his eyes, staring over at Barbara. "Elseworld. All right. You get Superboy out of Gotham. Barbara Gordon and I are going to pay a visit to Oracle." *** There was a huge, piercing laugh. Nightwing, in his heavy black and dark blue armor, tried to find the source from the warehouse he and Batgirl were in. Batgirl wore a suit that was all black and hid her hair. Her cape was hold on by silver clasps and her gloves and utility belt were heavy silver. Her symbol and eyes also were silver. She hovered over a control panel on the floor. "She's here" Nightwing said, going on guard. "Stop her I'm almost done." "Hellooooo, Nightwing! Batchick! Guess what? I've got a little friend of yours on a leash!" The two cried out as Robin in his metallic suit crashed down, hanging by the neck on a rope. Amazingly enough, it didn't break his neck, so he was still struggling. "Well, maybe not a LEASH. More like a NOOSE." Under him, melting from the shadows was a woman with white skin and green, shoulder long hair that was quite "out there" as far as how it hung. She wore a tight, dark purple suit with an open matching trench coat. She held cards in one hand and a revolver in the other. Around her right eye in a perfect square on that half of her forehead, down half the nose, and just under the eye back to the hair line was a black patch instead of white. "Joker... Let him down, now!" Nightwing ordered. "If you want him down, get him your own damn self. I'll break a nail." Batgirl leapt from her spot, winging out a batarang. It sliced through the rope and Robin crashed down onto the Joker. She hit the ground, her cards and gun going everywhere. She pushed him off and tried to stand. She stopped, however, when her nose touched the barrel of her gun that Nightwing was holding. "I'd stay down if I were you. I have no problem pulling the trigger." The Joker smirked and sat down on the ground comfortably. "Unlike Guanoboy. Man, it was fun to gut him and hang his body on display. Especially because he stayed alive for a day Suffering in pain!" she laughed. "And then there were your predecessors. The *other* Nightwing and Batgirl. I blew them up GOOD! HAHAHA!! Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon are your names. Batman was Bruce Wayne, I know. But how about Jason Todd, the other Nightwing? That's just an example And each time I kill one of you, it'll be worse. But not as worse as when I pulled out Batman's appendix and blew in it like an ocarina!" Nightwing went to pull the trigger, he was so fed up. But then, he back stepped as she began to vanish in the magenta haze that Barbara had vanished in. "What the--?!" "Oooh! Free ticket out! Play orchestral ending, show 'The End' at the bottom of the screen and FADE OUT!" Just as she finished her words, she disappeared. *** Nightwing helped Barbara up onto a roof top and walked to the edge. "So, you're Dick Grayson, right?" she asked. "Yeah..." "So, what are we doing up here?" "We're going to visit this dimension's Barbara Gordon." He threw out a line and reached for her hand. "I'll help you along." "I've got my own way, thank you." Nightwing raised an eyebrow as she reached under her skirt and to her right thigh. She pulled out an odd shaped, hand held contraption and fired it. It slammed into a gargoyle and latched tightly. "Bat grapple," she said. "I see. So you ARE Batgirl." "Yeah!" "Out of curiosity How old are you and the Nightwing and Robin of your dimension?" he asked. "I'm twenty one, Dick's twenty two and Tim's thirteen." "Really?" he asked, amazed. "Yeah Can we go now?" "Oh, yeah!" He swung out quickly. She smirked and jumped off after him. He glanced over his shoulder at her and smirked. "Hope you don't get chilled under that skirt!" "Hey!" she barked, grinning all the while. "I've got super lined panties here, buddy. I can't get cold! Especially with these boots too!" He landed on a building side and she followed as she grabbed a second grappler from her left thigh. "I wouldn't mind keeping you warm under your skirt, babe," he said, winking. "In your dreams, Boy Blunder Seniority feast. Where's this places Barbara live?" "Over there at that clock tower." "Meet you there, then!" she laughed. She fired one grappler and swung off, ready to fire the next and retract the other. Nightwing yelped and followed her the best he could. Meanwhile, down on the streets below them, the Joker landed hard on her bum. She groaned and then giggled. "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God all mighty, I'm free at--Where in God's name AM I?" she asked, standing. She turned and saw some Batman logo stuff in a store window and grinned. "Obviously the city of the Bat, this is where I am. But, could it be? Is the big bad Batboy still alive? Must I torture Nightwing and Batgirl MORE in a NEW dimension? .YES!!" Oracle and Batman looked over Barbara Gordon cautiously. Nightwing stayed next to her incase the pressure would cause her to faint. When Robin slid into the apartment with them, Batman spoke: "Tell us about your life in your dimension." "Well Uhhhhh I'm Batgirl Dick's Nightwing, Tim's Robin and Bruce is Batman My father is the Commissioner for the GCPD, and I work for him as a file organizer. Er Dick and I used to go out during college. But, the day after he graduated with highest honors, we discovered that we were Batgirl and Robin. He left and we broke up. For a while I worked with Batman alone, pairing off with Supergirl occasionally. Then Tim Drake, a street orphan, discovered Bruce's secret and stole Dick's teenager Robin suit and came to help stop Two-Face, the cause of his father's death. Later on, Bruce took him in as a ward and that's where we were at, Dick came back the next day. Dick and I usually argue--a lot. But recently we've been trying to, well, recapture Just before I came here, the Joker gunned Oh my God! Timothy! I hope he's okay," she cried, holding her head. "What?" Batman asked. "We were chasing Tim because he was spying on us The Joker came out of an elevator, shot him, and then left again before we could catch him. Oh God" Oracle was about to say something when her computers started to blare a signal. "What's going on?" Robin asked. "Hang on, hang on..." Oracle said, typing in. "There's a strange frequency overriding TV and radio signals from Arkham!" "Lets see it," Batman said. She pressed a button and on every screen in the apartment switched to the grinning faces of the male and female Jokers. "Helloooo! Good evening folks!" the male Joker said. "After compromising with this lovely young lady here I'm the Joker and she is the Jokeress!" "Call me Boopsie, that's okay too," the now declared Jokeress grinned. "We've taken over Arkham Asylum per request Boopsie here. We aren't holding it LONG, but we challenge the BAT ANTS to come and try to catch us!" "Yes! And we want Batgirl!" "The red haired--" "Good doing--" "Talking--" "Walking Batgirl!" the Jokeress smiled, leaping into the Joker's arms. "And if you DON'T bring her with, Batboy, we're blowing this place up With everyone in it! Now, excuse me while I have a little fun with my new wittle pawl here!" The Jokeress kicked the camera and the screens blanked. Batman, Oracle, Nightwing and Robin looked at Barbara, who shrugged. "She's not anyone I know!" she said defensively. "Oracle?" Batman asked Oracle. Oracle understood what he wanted and looked Barbara over. "We'll have to make a new one. She's smaller than me." *** "Oooooh! I'm too old for you, Klarion!" Zatanna Zatara yelled. Klarion (bum bum BUM) the Witch Boy had a death lock around her stomach. "We can be perfect together, Zanna! Two of the most powerful magical forces in the universe, united together!" "You've all ready switched people through dimensions to prove your power, Klarion. I believe you! Now switch those poor people back!" "Noooo! I want to make Barbara Gordon and the lady Joker fight each other! And you're going to help!" Zatanna looked across the room black room. "Would you get him off me?" she asked. "Only if you can get Teekl off my head," Etrigan the Demon responded. He struggled hard to get Teekl to undo her claws from his head. Zatanna sighed raggedly. "Klarion... By combining these people together, you're asking for trouble. The hormones are going to clash and the anger is going to grow. Granted it won't be as bad as when you messed with everyone's ages" "Didn't you like that?" "Well, it WAS good. But, Klarion! Put Barbara and the Joker back into their dimensions!" she said, holding him at arms length. He clamored back into her and snuggled in her arms. "On two conditions." "What are they?" "You be my friend And Barbara and the Joker fight each other. And one is hurt severely. Only on those conditions will I replace them back where they belong." *** Chapter Two (As Fate Would Have It) Barbara Gordon sat on the bed of Oracle's room and looked around as Oracle messed with some black and gold cloth. There had been an unsteady silence between them the entire time since Oracle started fixing up an old Batgirl suit of hers to fit Barbara. Barbara wanted to say something, but she wasn't too sure if she should. She looked around everywhere but in Oracle's direction, afraid she might stare at the wheel chair. "You want to ask, don't you?" Oracle asked suddenly. Barbara's greens shot to her. She kept focused on the material before her. "I..." Barbara stuttered. "Go ahead. Ask," Oracle said, almost challengingly. "Wuh-what happened to you?" Barbara choked out. Oracle smirked at Barbara's tone. She realized Barbara didn't have a clue and was scared at what might be said, but continued very passively: "The Joker shot me in the stomach and blew out my spinal cord. I wasn't even Batgirl when it happened. I had retired." "Oh…" Barbara said thoughtfully. She paled a bit, putting a hand to her neck to keep from totally crying out. "Orac-Barbara...? I-I've been debating retirement…" Oracle's eyes shot from the suit to Barbara. Then she went over so quickly and slammed the metal plates into Barbara's shins. Barbara clasped a hand to her mouth to hold in the yelp of pain. She stared at this apparition of a future self she would never see with the same respect she would pay an elder. "You listen to me. Don't you retire. Don't you DARE retire, Barbara. It's not worth it. Besides, you have no reason to. From what I understand… Your world is perfect…" "'Perfect'? I'd hardly call it perfect. Hiding my secrets from my father… Almost getting killed every night… This isn't a happy path." "...You ever botch a mission?" "When I first got started, ALL the time! See, it was never my intention to become Batgirl. It happened by accident!" Oracle went back to work as she grinned. "Tell me about it?" she asked. "Tell me about your becoming Batgirl first." "Well... I had always dreamed of being a crime fighter… I had trained to be the best athlete my body would let me. One Halloween I dressed up as Batgirl, but I didn't tell anyone so when everyone unmasked it would be a shocker. On my way to the party, some gang members were attacking Bruce Wayne, so I ran and helped him. Some reporters were there or something, because I was all over the news. From that point on, I didn't tell anyone. When I told my father finally, come to find out, he KNEW I was Batgirl. So did Batman. I'm nine years older, give or take, than Dick. And we always paired off until the Joker shot him and Bruce fired him…" "Wow..." Barbara breathed. "Yeah... Now, what's your story?" "Well, my father had been arrested on faulty charges. They said he had accepted bribes from a crime leader named Rupert Thorne… Now, I had always been an athlete. Dick, who is a year older than me give or take, always liked to challenge what I could do. Since we met when I was eight and he was nine. Now that we have that out of the way… When Harvey Bullock and that… man… I dare not say his name… Called for a rally, I begged for Batman to appear to influence public opinion more. When he said no, I dressed up as Batman. Padding and all. I swung over the crowds and ran into an alley, and then a shoot out began right after I pulled out the padding. Robin was there and we tried to stop the men. As I was running away, he pulled off the back of my cowl as TV reporters were shooting us, and it tore off, revealing I was a girl… From then on, I was Batgirl." Oracle nodded her head slightly. "So... You and Dick were an item?" "In college, yes. Oh, we were friends too, but we were in Puppy Love. But now that he knows I'm Batgirl, things have changed dramatically. When I threatened to retire at the last party we were at, his attitude towards me changed. He started getting nicer, wanting to patch things up, almost. I think he WANTS me to quit." "Those Graysons are so damn confusing, eh? Here, try this on for size," Oracle said. She handed Barbara the suit and backed off to let her change. *** The Joker laughed hysterically at the stories the Jokeress told him. She sat, refilling her acid spurting rose as she talked. He was nearly on the floor, in tears. "And I mean, you really haven't done hop scotch until you've used Batman's pancreas as the rock." "Oooohoohoohoohoo! You're gooood!" "I'm but a super villain, psychopathic serial killer clown that's simply sexy in her body suit." "Yes, yes… And I am the number one psycho-sociopathic serial killer clown that's OH so stylish!" His cell phone began to ring in his jacket. "The phone! The phone! Is it the phone? I'm not here; I'm out to lunch… Hello?!" he asked roughly into the phone. "There's no sign of them yet, boss!" a man said. "You called me for that. You called me in the middle of an important MEETING to tell me THAT?!" "Clones are nice. We like clones," the Jokeress said, winking. "Heh... Excuse me while I go kill someone." "Kay!" The Joker stomped out. The Jokeress pulled a lighter and began to run her hand through the flame slowly. She didn't even flinch as a scream pierced the halls that could curdle blood. The Joker stomped back in holding a dagger and tongue. "Tongue?" he offered. "Naw, I'll pass. No, you see, Mister J... The secret to finishing off the Batman is weakening him and then luring him in to you. I've finished him off brutally just by doing that." "Miss J, I don't think you understand… The fun isn't in that for me. I'm sure it was GREAT how you did it, but now I have to top that." "Oh, of course!" "I have endless solutions to this problem... The real problem is figuring out which one I want to use. His death must be glorious! ...For ME, that is. Haha! So, why do you like clones?" "'cause I have one!" "Oh? And who is that?" "Barbara Gordon," she said, winking. "The Commissioner's brat? You're HER?" He sat down on her lap and licked her eyeball. "FINALLY! The red head converts!" he exclaimed, hugging her. "I don't think you understand, Joker," she said. "I used to be Barbara. But after I had this OH so unholy conversion to a killer clown, Batman cloned me into another-and good-Barbara. They were very close..." A wide smile grew on her face. "Hence why I've donated my life to torturing her and her husband Dick Grayson." "But, if you killed the Batz, what's the point?" "I thought like you at one time," she said. "Like, without the Batboy I was nothing. So, I tried to find higher game... I find that torturing two souls by killing ten people a day is great!" "Oh? Oh? I must try that. Come with me, Boopsie!" He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her out, nearly dislocating her arm. *** The Batmobile skidded to a stop at the lowest part of the large road leading to Arkham. Robin slammed on the breaks just behind the Batmobile and opened it to let him and Batgirl out. Nightwing and Batman leapt out of the Batmobile. "What's the plan?" Robin asked. "I go in the head," Batgirl responded. "I don't think so," Batman said. "Listen! They want me, don't they? I should go in first. They won't expect anything to happen after I actually show up! Now, here's the-er… Uh…" She looked at Batman's face. "Make that: Here's A plan..." *** Zatanna Zatara grabbed Klarion by the collar and shook him fiercely. "You SEE?! You see what you've done?!" she cried. They stood, invisible, in Arkham Asylum. All around them were dead people that the Clown Prince and Clown Princess had slaughtered for fun. Klarion shook from her grasp and Teekl leapt into his arms. "They're only humans, Zanna! Chill out!" Klarion said. "Besides, the final battle is quickly approaching…" "I need to figure out how to reverse this…" she mumbled to herself. "You can't reverse it. The spell was cast by moi, and only I can reverse it. Common magic logic, Zatanna. Really! I'm shocked you didn't know that!" "I DO know that, Klarion!" she exclaimed. "But you have to have someone who rules over you..." "Nope," Klarion yawned out. "Klarion, too many people have died... Many more could die if you don't stop this!" "You don't seem to grasp the logic behind this, Zatanna." "No, I don't. WHY are you DOING this?!" "To impress you!" "I'm impressed all ready! What's the deal with the Jokeress and Barbara Gordon from the other dimensions?" "I'm glad you asked, my dear. You see, the Jokeress, known as the Joker in her home dimension, was once Barbara Gordon, and also Batgirl. One night when she was on a round, she encountered some thugs in a chemical plant. As she fought them, one knocked her into a vat of the chemicals below a catwalk she was on. It transformed her into the Joker… She went to Bruce Wayne for help to reverse the effects as she fought the evil growing within her." "What... What did he do?" "He said that it would prove fatal and that he would clone her in order to transfer her soul into the clone. She was successfully cloned, and as they began to transfer her soul, something went terribly wrong as Two-Face attacked, who is also a female in that dimension. The connection between the bodies was severed. What remained was Barbara Gordon, an entity of the original Barbara's nobility, courage and truthfulness. Then there was the Joker. All of the original Barbara Gordon's evil intentions, seductive nature and psychopathic abilities were trapped within. The Joker had every memory of the original, complete Barbara, whereas this new Barbara contained no memories of the heart, only of the mind." "What do you mean?" "She knew what two plus two was, but she had no idea she was Batgirl." "Oh." "Angry that the shifting wasn't a success and in want of a body that would allow her to conform to society, the Joker went on a rampage. She murdered Two-Face with a simple bullet to the head. Nightwing, the former colleague to the Batman, also named Jason Todd, was next. She took a reaper and cut him into the tiniest of pieces she could, other than his head, and sent it all to Bruce Wayne. Angered at this, Bruce left his new Robin, 18-year-old Dick Grayson, to defend Gotham with the newly induced Batgirl. He tracked the Joker for weeks until he was so exhausted, she got the drop on HIM. She captured him and video taped his brutal torture and finally when she started to gut him. Afterwards, she delivered the tape to the Gotham City Police Commissioner, Jane Gordon, and displayed Batman's body for all to see in Gazette Square. Hurriedly, Gordon, the transformed Robin-to-Nightwing and Batgirl got his body down before people would discover his body. After seeing the sorrow she put the three through, the Joker decided to dedicate her life to torturing those three souls--until the Scarecrow killed Gordon. Angered, the Joker killed the Scarecrow and decided that Dick and Barbara were good enough. From that moment on she's separated herself from being in any relation to Barbara Gordon and is dedicated to torturing the two in any way possible. When Timothy Drake became Robin, she found that he would be the perfect one to use to torture them." "...That's why you want these two to battle. Two worlds, no knowledge of each others pasts, and yet so much the same… You want to match them up so equally that they'll kill each other before there's a winner." "Silly girl… Their skills are completely opposite from each other. That's the fun of it! Oh! And the fun's about to begin!" *** Batgirl entered Arkham's main hall, hands outstretched. People working for the clowns eyed her warily as she walked down the hall. "I'm here! Your walking, talking, good-doing, red haired Batgirl!" she called. "Show yourselves per the deal!" "Helloooooo, Batchickadee!" the Jokeress laughed, swinging from the shadows on a rope. She wore bat ears and glasses that made her eyes look like Batman's. "Sup?" "Where's the Joker?" Batgirl demanded. "Right here," the Joker grinned, walking out behind her. She whirled around to see him holding a revolver in one hand and flamethrower in the other. "Lets see if you can run!" He shot at her, and she jumped to the side. She brought out her grappler and fired it at his head, knocking him to the ground. The Jokeress flipped to his side and grabbed the revolver. She fired, getting Batgirl across the arm. "Agh!" Batgirl cried. She gripped the scrape tightly. The Jokeress grinned darkly. "It will be quite nice to finish you……" She stopped and spun around, seeing Batman, Nightwing and Robin behind her. "Well, well, well. Capes and spandex on parade!" She fired into the air, signaling other prisoners to come from their hiding places. The Joker recovered and went after Batman. The Jokeress turned to Batgirl. "You want a piece of me?" Batgirl asked. "Catch me first!" She sprinted off. The Jokeress laughed hysterically. "Time to DIE, Batchick! Or perhaps I should just shoot you in the spine!" She did a cartwheel and then skipped after Batgirl quickly. *** Zatanna sat on the stone floor, still invisible to all but Klarion. Klarion walked over and sat in front of her. She was staring at the floor sadly. "What's wrong, Zanna?" he asked. "People are suffering more and more and I can't do a thing about it…" she whispered. Klarion saw a tear stream down her cheek and frowned. "These common mortals mean a lot to you, huh?" "There's nothing common about them, Klarion. And yes, they do." Klarion saw Batgirl run past, followed by the Jokeress and sighed. He looked to Zatanna and wiped another tear off her cheek. "Okay, Zanna. Tell you what... There IS another way that you can change all this without me. I'm not going to reverse what I've done. You have to work for it. You need to find the one man that Batgirl cares for more than anything else in the universe. They must kiss at the witching hour, or else it's all up to fate and me. And the kiss must mean something." "Y-you're serious?" "Absolutely. But, if one of the two dies in this realm before the witching hour, I can't reverse the spell at all." Zatanna stood slowly, her right hand lighting in a soft purple. "How long do I have?" "A good thirty minutes." "God I hope this works…" she whispered. She raised her glowing hand above her. The light swirled down, around her body and she vanished. Klarion sighed and ran to go see the battle between Batgirl and the Jokeress. *** Sitting in the study of Wayne Manor was Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne. Dick was hunched over, in tears. Bruce was stunned out of his mind. They had just received the call from the hospital that Timothy Drake had died from the bullet wound he received from the Joker. Alfred Pennyworth was out of the room to let them mourn on their own. "Had we not chased him out... The Joker wouldn't have..." Dick whispered. "We weren't even there for him when he passed on..." "There... There is no greater emptiness..." Bruce said blankly. "Than having to die alone..." "I know, Bruce... I know... We need to catch him..." "I might be able to help," they heard. They turned as Zatanna appeared in purple light. "But this complication is far more than just a little boy who died far too soon…" "Zanna?" Bruce asked, standing. "Zanna, why are you--?" "I am not your Zatanna, Mister Wayne. I come from another dimension in which your friend Barbara Gordon has been placed. Klarion the Witch Boy is at fault for a shift of personnel in dimensions. Your friend is being pitted against her exact equal opposite. I need to bring Mister Grayson with me to this dimension and have him kiss Miss Gordon before the strike of twelve." The two looked to Dick. Dick just looked down to his hand where he held Tim's Robin mask. Tears streamed down his face as he thought of all the things he did and should have done with the young boy. Things had started moving so quickly, it was all a blur to him. At the small mention of how things could be changed, however, time seemed to slow into a painfully slow motion. He balled his hands into fists and put them to his eyes, shaking his head furiously. "No... Can't... think... No..." he whispered. *** Chapter Three (Before Midnight) "Please, Grayson! You HAVE to! Don't you have FEELINGS for her?!" Zatanna Zatara was upset now that Dick Grayson wouldn't cooperate. He hunched over and just refused to respond. "Dick, she's offering us a way to at least save Barbara……" Bruce Wayne said. He set a hand on his shoulder. "Dick…?" Dick still said nothing. Zatanna glanced at the clock across the way nervously, which read the clock. 11:40 PM, twenty minutes before midnight. "I'd hate to push this… But we have twenty minutes, and we still have to FIND Batgirl." And yet, Dick said nothing. Bruce walked and pulled Zatanna with him. They exited his study and he shut the door gently. She observed the irregular coldness in his eyes--even for Bruce Wayne. She contributed it to the horrible loss that he had just endured. "I've just lost a son, Zatanna. Are you lying to us about this?" "No, I'm not." "I'm not ready for games." Zatanna placed a gentle hand to his cheek. "Mister Wayne… I haven't a reason at all to lie to you or Dick…" "Surely in this dimension you come from there's a Batgirl. Why did Klarion take this dimension's Batgirl?" He realized he was being awfully passive with the fact that she knew their secrets, but now was not the time to worry about that. "There was a Batgirl… For a time. Unfortunately, she met a very tragic ending at the fault of a bullet. This "Jokeress" is Barbara in another dimension, that's why he wants them to face off with each other." Bruce stared away, focusing on nothing but air. He didn't want to endanger yet another protégé, but he felt he had no choice. "Will you keep him safe?" "As long as all goes well, yes." "…Stay here." He reentered the study where Dick was still hunched and non- responsive. "Dick?" he asked. He sat down next to him and didn't receive a response. "Grayson, you *listen* to me!" he snapped. Dick sat up slowly and looked at him, stunned he was worried about lecturing than Timothy Drake. "This is our *chance* to make things RIGHT, Dick. You have to do this." "Ev--Everything I feel for her… I can't feel… It's a bunch of clouded, faded memories locked away… I can't possibly make a kiss with her really mean something…" "You have to try… For the sake of us all. We don't know how bad this can get, and you have seventeen minutes and counting down… If you don't succeed… I won't be mad. But at least *try*." Dick looked at him with pained eyes. Bruce was expecting him to instantly rekindle something that he had *tried* to light again. But then Tim was shot and she disappeared. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, leaning back… *** Batgirl ducked and the Jokeress sailed overhead, having to spring off the wall with her legs. She slammed into Batgirl that time and they crashed to the stone floor of Arkham. Batgirl slammed an elbow into the Jokeress's side to get her off and somersaulted onto her feet. The Jokeress tried to shoot her again, but she winged out a batarang, knocking the gun away. "Guns aren't good for you," she said lowly. "Oh, and that was definitely not good for YOU, Bat-bitch," the Jokeress snarled. She pressed her flower and acid spurted towards Batgirl. She dodged it--for the most part. A bit landed on her gun scrape and burned deeper. Batgirl tried not to cry out as she clawed the wound with her gold gloves to get the acid out. A chair from a cell slammed into her back and she fell to her knees. "Oh, MY!" the Jokeress laughed. "Endless hours of entertainment balled up into one lump sum of flesh! Well, bleeding flesh, but none of US care! WEEE!!!" She latched onto Batgirl by the hair and yanked her forward. Flames cut through the end of their corridor as they continued to catfight. Batman, Robin and Nightwing busted through as a huge fountain of fire continued to follow them. Batman threw a line up into the dark ceiling and swung up just as the flames went under him. Robin leapt into a bust cell and Nightwing did a flip, and then latched onto a second floor of cells. He crawled up the poles quickly. The Joker came out and grinned, shutting off the flamethrower. "Come out, come out wherever you are, Batkids! Uncle Joker's got a few flamin' GIFTS for ya! HAHA!" As he walked past the cell Robin jumped to, he saw a little movement within. He turned and pulled the revolver, firing. Blood trailed across the floor and he laughed. "Oh, WEE!!! Bat food!" Batman and Nightwing's eyes were widened with fear as the Joker skipped off. They made their way down to the dark cell and turned on the light. Nightwing had to look away. Batman walked over to where Robin sat with a wound in his right lung. The bullet had managed to somehow rip through a weak part in his Kevlar and pierce him entirely through. "Robin…? Tim?" he asked. "Can hardly… hardly… breathe…" he choked out. Batman checked gently to see there was an exit wound to which all the blood was falling. He pressed into both sides of the deadly tunnel running through the boy's chest, and then he looked to Nightwing. Nightwing could feel him looking at him as he faced away. And he knew what he wanted, but he turned to him anyway, awaiting the actual command. "You go… And you get him. No matter *what* it takes. You get him, and you bring him to ME," he said lowly. "With pleasure," Nightwing growled. *** Batgirl clawed down on the Jokeress's face. The Jokeress backed off, but kept a tight grip on Batgirl's navy blue cape that went to her knees. She swung Batgirl around and crashed her into a wall. Batgirl swung around and backed handed her with all her might. Every move Batgirl made, it felt like her bones were shifting within her painfully. But she sucked in the pain and continued to battle. After all, that WAS what she was trained for, right? The Jokeress took the powerful backhand quite well by cartwheeling instead of falling. Batgirl let out a low growl and leapt into the air towards her. A cleated foot slammed into the Jokeress's face and knocked her back. Batgirl then moaned and held her arm. The Jokeress got to her feet and pulled a dagger. "Lets raise the stakes, Batslut." *** Klarion watched their battle rage on. He looked at a nearby clock to see there was seven minutes and counting. He was happy, yet nervous. If it hit twelve before Zatanna got back, everything would go as he wanted. But, she would never even want to look at him. If he stopped it, she would be happy but he would be unhappy. "Ooooh, what do I do, Teekl?" he asked the cat. "Do I worry about her happiness or mine?" Teekl let out a mew in response and he sighed. "All right, all right. I'll wait." *** Nightwing ran after the Joker on the roof of Arkham. He wasn't about to let him get away for what he did, and had done before that so many times. Now, he had full permission from Batman to let loose on him--as long as there was enough for Batman to have a piece too. The Joker leapt up onto the edge wall and turned to him, holding the flamethrower at hand. "So… I see the little Bludhaven first stringer wants to play. I'm so GLAD… Batman's finally sending someone of class!" "He was just a BOY, Joker!" "Oh, blah-blah. That's all I'm hearing from you right now--BLAH-BLAH! Lalalalalalala! I can't HEAR you!" He plugged his ears and looked away. Nightwing growled and flew out a rope around his feet. The Joker stopped and looked down, then to Nightwing. "Heh," Nightwing smirked. He pulled just hard enough to send the Joker off the roof, but he held the rope tightly. He walked to the edge and looked at him. "So, should I let go?" "You *wouldn't*…" "I don't see anyone here. No Batman, no Commissioner Gordon." "But you still don't have it in your heart to do it! Ha-ha!" Nightwing pulled him up and held him up by the neck. "You're right. But I know someone who has it in his heart to do it…" *** Zatanna and Dick, who was in a trench coat and hat, appeared just outside of Arkham Asylum. "Whoa…" Dick said, noting all the differences. "Get your mask on, and lets go! Four minutes and counting and who knows where they are!" Dick pulled off his jacket to his vigilante garb and slid on his mask. "All right. Lead the way, since you know where they were last!" Going off the level the level they were on, the Jokeress and Batgirl slammed into a floor lower than the main level. They stood as quickly as possible, so they could continue their offensive-defensive strikes against each other. Batgirl ducked under one of the Jokeress's swings with the dagger. She gripped the Jokeress's arm and then her hair, despite the bad arm. The Jokeress kicked Batgirl in the solar plexus and swung her around into the wall. "You know, I must say… You have a lot more FIGHT in you than the Batgirl in my dimension. A lot more frontal too… I like that!" She let go of Batgirl and backed away quickly. "So much spunk! You've got a few people waiting at home, doncha? Well, that's okay… 'cause they're gonna have to wait longer!!!" She raised a small pellet, and threw it at Batgirl. Batgirl ducked and it slammed into the wall behind her, causing a huge explosion. She tried to run from the rubble that came for her, but it got her from the waist down, pinning her to the ground, on her back. "Oh… no…" she whispered. She pulled to try to free herself, but to no avail. The Jokeress tapped her face with her foot to get her attention. She looked up to see the Jokeress holding a metal bar. "This is a chance too good to pass up," the Jokeress grinned. She raised the bar, and then swung down. Zatanna and Dick sprinted down the halls as fast as they could. They passed one cell, and heard: "Nightwing!" Dick turned and looked in to see Batman holding Robin's wounds. "Oracle called the police… Did you get the Joker?!" "I'm not your Nightwing! I'm Batgirl's Nightwing!" He headed down the hall quickly, calling over his shoulder, "Follow me! Come with Robin!" He ran now about thirty paces behind Zatanna as she searched for Batgirl and the Jokeress. Batman trusted him just enough to do as he said, carrying Robin the best he could. Nightwing ran in, dragging the Joker with. "What's going on?!" he asked. "Follow that Nightwing there!" He gestured to Dick. Nightwing was stunned a moment, then obeyed. "Oh my God…" Zatanna whispered, staring down to where the Jokeress and Batgirl had their final battle. "What is it?" Dick asked. He came over and gasped. "No…" All around was a circle of bombs placed there by the Jokeress. In the center was the bloody body of Batgirl. Dick swooped down and saw sixty seconds on the bombs. "One minute until twelve!" Zatanna cried. Dick gently lifted Batgirl up the best he could and touched her cheek. She was still alive, and barely conscious. "Babs?" he whispered. Her eyes slowly tried to focus on him. "It's me…" "…How…?" she squeaked out. "We have to kiss and make it mean something before twelve…" "I-I'm going to die…" "No… no you won't, Babs… You have too many people who love you…" He bent down and pressed his cheek against hers. "*I* love you," he whispered. "You do?" she asked. "I-I always have. I just never realized it until now… I *love* you," he said louder. "Love conquers all else…" He brought her lips to his. She closed her eyes as red tears streamed down. One second later, the bombs went off…… *** **FLASH** Barbara Gordon jerked away from Dick Grayson's embrace. Tim Drake stood, laughing hysterically as he held the snapshots he had taken of them. "OH MAN! Wait 'til Bruce sees these!" Barbara was frozen for a second as Dick got angry at Tim. Then she realized the "spell" had reversed itself. She wouldn't have believed it, except blood was beginning to seep through a tiny slice of her sweater sleeve where she had been shot and burned as Batgirl by the Jokeress. "Tim?!" Barbara cried. She ran for him, but this time to hug him. He yelped, not knowing that and ran for the door. Dick followed Barbara quickly. Tim shoved out the door and slid down the walls of the narrow staircase. He flipped to the bottom and booked for the elevator. "TIM!! WAIT!!!" Barbara screamed. "You're going to be killed!!!" She pumped her legs harder than ever before, this time fully intending on catching up. Tim went for the opening elevator in a mad dash, but then skidded to a stop, eyes wide. There stood the Joker with a gun. "Bruce Wayne's little brat. Cute," the Joker smirked. He fired, but Tim was tackled to the ground by Barbara. The bullet hit the wall just beside Dick as he rounded the corner. Barbara stayed on top of Tim as a shield until the doors shut on the cursing Joker. Dick ran over and helped her up. "You're hurt, Babs! The bullet didn't just get the wall, did it?" he asked, holding her arm. She smiled weakly and nodded. "It got me too, but I'm okay… Now, at least." "You knew he was there, didn't you?" Tim asked. "How?" "Call it a friendly intuition that scouts the future injuries of my friends. Come here, boy!" she laughed. She pulled him to her and hugged him. "Gee, thanks Babs. Ick! Girls have cooties!" Tim exclaimed, joking. "Especially when they have gunshot wounds." "I guess this calls for the Bats and Birds to go into play," she smiled. "Lets get moving!" Barbara, still clutching the wound that was bleeding slower now, entered her apartment as her phone rang. She locked everything up and ran to it. "Hello?" she asked. "Barbara, it's Bruce." "I thought you'd be out looking for the Joker already! What's up?" she asked as she entered her kitchen to start bandaging her arm. "Several things. First of all… What you did for Timothy… Thank you." "I'd die for any of you, you know that…" "As we would for you." Barbara smiled but said nothing. She knew Bruce was still there, and could hear her bandaging her arm. He waited until he heard her finish and head out for her room to continue. "Dick mentioned something to me that you told him two days ago that you want to… retire…?" "Yeah, I did. It's something I've been… talking about…" She stopped as she turned on the light to her room. Lying on her bed was her black Batgirl suit with the blue tinge and gold gloves, symbol, belt and boots. The cape, which was gold on the under side and blue on the other and went just below her waist laid beside it. Next to that was the suit Oracle had made for her, damaged and bloody, but still recognizable. Very dark gray with the gold boots, belt, gloves and symbol. The navy blue cape and cowl with the black hues, which ranged to her knees, lay beside that. ~"You listen to me. Don't you retire. Don't you DARE retire, Barbara. It's not worth it. Besides, you have no reason to. From what I understand… Your world is perfect…"~ Oracle's voice echoed in her head. She had put on an argument over that with her, and that other Robin as well. Dick had been shot and fired by Bruce. Jason Todd had been murdered. Oracle was paralyzed. Batman once had his back broken, even. Contagions, cults, slaughters, loss of friends and family. All far worse than anything in Barbara's life. She let out a ragged sigh into the phone that Bruce heard. "Is something wrong, Barbara?" "No." A slow smile grew across her face. "Nothing's wrong at all. I'm just thinking about how lucky I am to be living here as I am and no where else. And how lucky I am to have you all… Also how stupid I am for even considering retirement. Life's too good to let something like THIS go! I have to change; I'll meet you at the GCPD in ten. Bye!" *** The End. ~~I've wanted to write this for a long time (and I've tried… Like five time before this, LITERALLY), and FINALLY, because of "Birds of a Feather" and A.j.'s kindness, I've actually gotten it done! This is to you, A.j.!~~