United States of Brainy wrote:Batgirl
“You have a lot of nerve,” she whispered, “showing your face after the stunt you pulled.” She just realized she had quoted Lando’s line to Han in The Empire Strikes Back. It annoyed her but it also fit. Like Han, Dick Grayson was a rogue, a scoundrel. And she wouldn’t mind freezing him in some carbonite right about now.
“You were eavesdropping again, weren’t you? On the emergency channel? I’ll make sure it’s the last time. So… I heard you were back. Working at the museum. All that time and you didn’t think to call me? Oh, if you were wondering, the situation’s handled here. The Queen again. She might be gone for good, ‘extinguished’ you might say.” She chuckled bitterly at the pun. “But I kinda doubt it. I’m going to take Ms. Bingum and these two young ladies back to her place.”
The roar of her motorcycle distracted her for a moment. The autopilot pulled the bike to a tight stop a few feet away. “Well, guess that’s my ride.” She turned back to Ruth and the girls. “Ready to go?” she asked them, hopping onto her bike and grabbing her helmet. As she waited for them to get into Ruth’s car, Babs turned back to her former boyfriend one last time. “It’s good to see you again, Dick,” she told him, warmth in her voice, despite everything. Then she donned her helmet and turned away from him.
Ruth Bingum
Ooh, did Batgirl once have a romantic relationship with this man? Fascinating. This could be good for emotional manipulation in the future, most definitely. Still, it hurt to see this boy act so confident and laid back when he had obviously hurt Batgirl. Memories of men who promised her the world through lying teeth flitted across her mind and were promptly shoved back down again. Now was not the time to think of that. She didn't know if she was going soft or she was feeling particularly vengeful, but before she knew it she was commanding one of the wasps that had been hanging around the scene, directionlessly buzzing after she had stopped her control, to fly up Nightwing's nose and sting him. A smile graced her face as she imagined the pain he must be feeling, only a fraction of whatever emotional distress he might have caused others. Heroes couldn't pretend to be good and yet do things like this. It messed with the natural order of things. If you want to hurt, become a villain. And oh boy, did she want to hurt.
She kept walking with the girls to stand next to Batgirl, who was parked on her bat-motorbike or whatever she called her ride, behind the limousine Ruth herself had used to get here. It was scratched and dented a bit, for show, but still operable, her chauffeur safe inside. It felt so long ago that she had stepped out of that vehicle, not intending to go on a rampage. Then again, she didn't work for the world, the world worked for her! For now, though, she still had her role to play. She had to remind herself of that constantly. Being in the presence of Batgirl and close to her would be a double edged sword, as most swords are, both a great benefit and a great danger to her identity.
"Girls, you can get in now. I have to speak to the famous Batgirl for a moment." The black haired one looked as if she were about to protest, probably about not being an infant, but the blonde set her hand on her shoulder and led her away, still with her head down. What an odd one, that blonde, wassername. Ugh. She was really going to have to learn these girls' names soon. It was irritating to have to refer to them by hair colour, especially when hair colour could change in under an hour. Not that she would know anything about dyeing hair.
She turned to the caped crimefighter, her face portraying concern with a touch of curiosity, one of her better faces, if she did say so herself.
"Dear, are you sure you wouldn't like to ride with us? The limousine is top of the line and I wouldn't want you to get lost in the traffic. Gotham can be so dark and scary at night, even for a hero."