Chapter 90

Batgirl, aka ??????? ?????? PoV

The Batcave was usually bustling with some sort of activity. Whether it be Jason or Dick training, or Batman working at one of his stations. Giving at least a semblance of noise in the background while I did my own thing.

Which I actually preferred. Despite the boys being annoying from time to time, it was still more comfortable than the empty silence when it was just me. I wasn’t sure how Batman dealt with it before Dick came along. Maybe Alfred sang a bit when he cleaned up around the cave?

The whole place was pretty massive. Which meant noise carried itself around from one end to the other. Maybe it had been intended to notify Bruce if there was any unwanted presence in the cave. But even then, it just felt…a bit much.

Like a yawning abyss that sucked in everything around it.

It was because of this layout that I heard the boys before I saw them. Both Dick and Jason training individually on different sets of equipment. It wasn’t very surprising. They weren’t on the same level of strength, and it didn’t help that they didn’t exactly connect well.

It wasn’t that they didn’t like each other. If anything the fact that they had a lot of similarities got them to bond a bit. However, there was a deeper problem than just how they felt.

Their combat styles didn’t match up at all.

Dick was a planner. Thinking carefully before engaging in any one strategy, and switching things up when it doesn’t work out. Jason on the other hand thought on his feet. Diving in immediately and if problems arose well, then he’d have to think quickly to handle it.

Instinct vs caution.

You can see how they don’t exactly jive well during missions.

My presence caused the two of them to stop practicing, for entirely different reasons.

“Hey Babs.”

Dick called out, waving his hand. I did much the same, while ignoring Jason’s wandering eyes. The little brat seemed to be going through puberty.

“Hey Grayson. Just came to drop off some of the evidence I’ve gathered.”

I told him, bragging in an offhanded manner in order to get him to inquire about it. It felt pretty good to be back in the spotlight again. Dick’s eyes lit up in recognition as he looked over at the package in my hands.

“That for the Bane case?”

“Yep. Just some stuff I found after digging for a couple of hours.”

After providing some results for the past few weeks, Batman finally put me back into action. Letting me show them all what I can do. I at least didn’t need a fat trust fund and Bruce’s constant attention to actually deal with criminals.

…That came out a bit more bitter than I’d like, but it also wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Oh right. Heard you took out that oversized lizard. Saved me and Batman the trouble.”

My eye twitched at that brat’s annoying tone of voice. The smile that creeped up on his face as he spoke. Don’t respond to him Barbara. You’re better than that. Stooping down to a child’s level was beneath me.

“It was pretty surprising to hear you singlehandedly took out Killer Croc. Though I guess I shouldn’t underestimate how crafty you can be.”

Dick added in, causing my eye to twitch a bit in response. I watched him carefully with a frown as he rubbed the back of his head. Noticing that his words didn’t seem to have the effect he intended on me.

“…I didn’t employ any tricks, actually. I fought and bested him in hand-to-hand combat.”

I spat out, causing both of the boys to pause. The atmosphere was slowly starting to become something more awkward, but I was starting to have trouble reigning myself in.

No, that wasn’t the truth.

In reality I could very easily have stopped. Taking the comment to the chin like a champ. Turn the other cheek like I usually did.

But not this time.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that, Babs. I just made an assumption because you didn’t even seem bruised afterwards.”

My eyes narrowed.

Of course. Because if it had been anyone else, they wouldn’t have thought twice, but because little old Barbara came back without any injuries she must have cheated. Using her big head to outthink the problem because she’s just a frail woman.

Ugh. Men.

I wonder if Catwoman has to put up with these sorts of things as well…

Dick approached as I crossed my arms. Glaring him down as he stopped and put up his hands. A genuine worried expression gliding over his face, which wasn’t fair at all. It made me feel like a total jerk when he did stuff like that.

“Is…everything all right? Are you worried about something?”

I sighed, and slouched my shoulders. Shaking my head in the negative as I started to calm back down.

“It’s fine. Everything’s fine. I was just letting off a bit of steam.”

I confessed, causing both boys to relax. Jason went back to practicing while Dick took the evidence I had gathered. A part of me recoiled at the act, rebelling at the thought that he was going to take everything I had worked on and present it as his own.

But of course, he wouldn’t do that. I was just being overly paranoid. This wasn’t my third-grade science fair all over again.

“Gotcha. I thought you were worried about the midterms or something.”

I snorted in response to Dick’s comment.

“Please. Those aren’t for another week. Speaking of, I’ll probably need some time to study. So I’ll have to take some…time…off…”

I started, only to trail off after noticing the strange look Dick was giving me. Did I…do something wrong? Dick starting to speak slowly after a few seconds. As if worried as to how I’ll take it. Like how a police officer fresh out of training acts when telling someone that their family member has just been taken into custody.

“…You do know that they moved midterms up, right?”

…Hmm?

“What?”

“Yeah, a few months back they sent out a notice. They had to reschedule due to the school festival being canceled.”

…Huh?

“Wait. Hold on a second…s-so, midterms are this week!?”

Panic started to filter into my system as a result. My fingers constantly flexed as I resisted the urge to bit my nails. This…this couldn’t be happening. Due to bat business, I haven’t been studying at all lately. Which means if I only have a day or two to study…

N-no, it was fine. I just need to pull a few all nighters. With enough coffee, I was sure to make enough progress. Even better, I could call up a few favors from my more studious classmates and have a study session with all of them. Cramming in as much as possible before the deadline.

It wasn’t going to be easy. Wasn’t that the understatement of a lifetime? It was going to be absolutely brutal. But I could deal with it. I just had to be really strong, and waste no time-

“Barb, midterms are tomorrow.”

…What.

 *~o~*

My hands were jittery, and it wasn’t just because of the coffee. My nerves were causing mini panic attacks every fifteen minutes just thinking about when the test was going to start. My foot rapidly tapping wildly against the ground.

After talking to Robin and hauling it back home, I still only had a few hours to study. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough. I tried opening all of my available textbooks and turning on my monitors in order to try to somehow get as much knowledge as possible, but Batman’s speed-reading ability was beyond me.

Which only further exacerbated the problem, because attempting that cost time. Time that was so incredibly valuable right now. No matter how much I attempted to stall it, the inevitable came all the same. The sun rose and the day started despite my protests.

Dang it, dang it, dang it! I needed more time. Was it possible for me to get an extension on the test? It was pretty scummy to do, but maybe I could lie about a family member being sick, o-or maybe throw around dad’s name to…

Oh who was I kidding?

I was so cooked.

My perfect record and GPA was going to get absolutely tanked. And if it got tanked, then my life was going to be absolutely ruined! I could kiss any scholarships goodbye. Forget Harvard or Yale, I’d be looking at…at…Gotham U.

Ugh…

It was only compounded further by how disappointed my dad would be…Oh god, I hadn’t even thought about his reaction! He’s been giving me my own space because I’ve always earned it. If I start doing poorly, he’s going to investigate!

Oh gosh, oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh!

I was going to need a miracle to pull me out of this.

Oh, I deserve this. For ignoring school work for so long. For snapping at Dick like that. That’s why there wasn’t anyone here to save me from this emergency.

…Emergency…

My eyes darted over to the pill capsule.

…Several of my friends popped pills. They weren’t junkies or anything, they were just study pills like Adderall or Ritalin. While I frowned on the practice, it wasn’t as if they were really hurting anyone by doing it.

I hadn’t taken any more pills after the whole Killer Croc thing. I just didn’t feel the need to do so. Nothing happened that I couldn’t take care of normally, so they just winded up being forgotten about again.

…But what I didn’t forget about was how I felt when on one. That rush of adrenaline, the raw power and feeling of everything in the world just being…good. I also had felt smarter.

Of course, there was no drug that just made you more intelligent. It’d be crazy for something like that to actually exist. What really happened was that I was just able to focus really, really well. Which is exactly what Adderall lets you do.

…It was kind of a waste. I was smart enough to understand that, at least. It was something to use to fight supervillains not tests. It was for emergencies.

But if this wasn’t an emergency, then I didn’t know what was!

I slowly reached out to the pills. Holding the bottle in my hand as I weighed my options.

Uh huh.

Yep.

Well, that sure was quick. I took one in my mouth before dry swallowing it. Something I immediately regretted as it became stuck in my throat. Forcing me to run into the bathroom and cup my hands over the faucet for a drink of water.

It was either that, or start vomiting. And that really would be a waste.

After a few seconds, it started to kick in. My senses seemed to be kicked up a notch, as I see my room in a new light.

…It could definitely use some Febreze.

Alright, now I needed to cram as much info into my head about…the subjects…

But…did I really need to? Now that I thought about it, was something like that really necessary? It wasn’t as if I was slacking off that badly. As long as I focused and used the power of deduction, I should be able to grasp most answers.

Ah, I see what the real problem was.

It was confidence.

That’s right. That’s what I was really lacking. I just needed to be confident in myself and take the test with my head held high. Why the heck would I be scared of some test?

I’m Barbara J. Gordon. A superhero who kicks major criminal butt at night, and eats tests like this during the morning. It’s them who should be afraid of me!  

Watch out midterms, Batgirl is coming.