#babs is also part time dispatch

[dragonpyre]

hi i’m late but i’m asking about your batfam first responder au

also. ADORE the cass with an axe drawing <33333

Yes hi hello absolutely.

So basic premise is, the batkids are all first responders while still being vigilantes. It's starts cuz Jason's like "wtf do I do as a civilian" and decides "fuck it. fire rescue". He's got the build for it, cuz got the cpr certification for it. Now he just has to go through fire boot camp.

He gets upset when he's not allowed to participate in the firefighter calender cuz of his extensive scarring. This prompts Steph to sign up to be a paramedic cuz SHE can be in the calander and rub it in Jason's face. Cass joins cuz Steph joined and honestly? Sounds kinda fun.

Tim decides to join dispatch cuz it's easier to access the mainframe or whatever for bat reasons if he has direct access to the building. Which Barbara has already done. But he wants to as well.

And Dick is a cop

[rosesgonerogue]

Finding You (Again)

Chapter Four

Masterlist

Damian

After the first three days, Damian didn’t go home again. Every time he walked in and she wasn’t there felt like he was being stabbed, so he just stopped going. He still had the security system synced with his phone, and he couldn’t stop himself from checking it immediately whenever it gave any sort of update. 

Instead, Damian sulked around Wayne Manor, doing anything he could contrive to stop thinking about Marinette. He trained a lot - in fact, training took up the bulk of his time, leaving him to systematically rip various training dummies limb from limb. After a week of this, he felt…  feral. His family gave him a healthy amount of space, as evidenced by the fifteen foot radius they were giving him as they watched him dispatch yet another dummy, this time with his katana. 

When the practice dummy had been sufficiently reduced to scraps, he breathed deeply. Irked by the feeling of being scrutinized, he growled, “I can tell you all have something to say. What is it?”

They all traded glances before Babs finally said, “We’re worried about you, Damian.” 

“Shocking,” Damian said, punctuating the work with a sharp kick to the dismembered dummy laying on the ground. 

“Little D, you’re not okay,” Dick said from where he was perched. “You haven’t been this moody and angry since you were a teenager.” 

Before Damian could give an appropriately caustic reply, Jason spoke up. “Come on, Dick, let’s stop pussyfooting around the issue. You screwed up, Demon Spawn, and while you’re throwing a temper tantrum we haven’t heard from Marinette.” 

Hurt and anger flared in Damian’s chest, and the bottled up emotions from every day Marinette didn’t return broke free in the form of a wild punch thrown at his older brother’s face. It was a crazed, desperate punch that Jason caught without difficulty. Using the grip on Damian’s hand, Jason hauled him forward. “Listen here, you little -” 

“Let him go, Master Jason,” Alfred said, inserting himself between the two. “The situation will not be improved with violence, as Master Damian has demonstrated with these dummies.” 

“Thank you, Alfred,” Damian said, sharply pulling his hand away from Jason. “Now you can all kindly stay out of my marriage.” 

“With all due respect, Master Damian, we have been staying out of your marriage, but we have some serious concerns that you will listen to.” 

“I don’t know where Marinette is, so you can all save your breath,” Damian spat.

“We don’t know where she is either,” Babs said seriously. “We didn’t want to overstep our bounds, but Marinette hasn’t picked up her phone since she left, we found it being sold in a back alley.” 

“Her tracking chip isn’t showing up at all, and that sucker was embedded in her arm,” Drake added. “It should be able to track her anywhere in the world, and a little ways beyond it.” 

“Tom and Sabine haven’t seen or heard from her, and neither have her friends,” Bruce said seriously.

“Th-they haven’t?” Damian asked, his anger slowly being replaced by fear.

“She hasn’t finished a single commission,” Babs added. “I had to hack her website to send refunds and explanations to each of her customers.” 

“Ladybug also hasn’t been seen anywhere in the world that we can find. Besides, Marinette has never been the kind to just leave without saying a word to anyone. We don’t want to pry into your marriage, but we love you and we love Marinette. Something is wrong.” 

With every word his family spoke, Damian felt reality crashing down on him. All the worry and loneliness he’d been smothering with anger felt suffocating. He couldn’t hear anything above the sound on his heartbeat drumming in his ears. A million different possibilities swam through his mind - Marinette, cold and alone. Marinette, trapped and desperate. 

Marinette dead.

That image brought everything to a screeching halt. As much as he wanted to give into his emotions, Damian needed to act. Breathing deeply, he attempted to organize his chaotic thoughts.

“Tim, Babs, I need you two to look at all of the security footage of the night she disappeared. When she needs to think, she usually takes Fifth Street home so she has a longer walk. Jason and Stephanie, you two go search possible routes to my house for any kind of evidence. Dick… Dick, will you come look in my house for any evidence?”

He hated the way his voice shook when he said the last part, but his oldest brother simply put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re here to help, Little D. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.” 

With that, everyone sprang into action, worry etched into their faces. Damian didn’t speak a single word on the way over to his house, despite his brother’s best efforts. A million more possibilities swam through his head, torturing him with all of the possibilities of what might have happened to her. 

His heart twisted in his chest when they got to his house. Again, Damian found that he couldn’t name the emotions racing through him. If he were going to attempt describing what he was feeling while looking at his house, he would liken it to being in a funeral home - it was somewhere designed to be warm and inviting, but it was just cold and oppressively silent. 

The house was still, undisturbed. It smelled slightly musty, but it looked exactly as it had been the last time he’d walked in. 

“She didn’t make it home that night,” Damian said almost immediately. 

“How do you know?”

“The morning of she forgot that fabric - she was going to come home for it during her lunch break, but an emergency repair came in for her and she didn’t have time. She had big plans for that fabric, and she never would have left it unfolded on the floor like that.” 

“She is neurotic about her fabric,” Dick said, nodding sagely. 

Seeing the fabric strewn across the floor bothered Damian more than it probably should have. While his brother started to search the house, Damian couldn’t help but snatch the fabric and carefully fold it. He’d barely placed it on the couch when the door crashed open, a huge form bustling in. 

“Bad news, Damian,” Jason said, thrusting something towards Damian’s face. 

It was so close to his eyes that it took a second to adjust so he could see what it was, but when he did take it in, the blood drained from his face. It was a dart, a dart that he and Jason recognized immediately. 

“Mother.” 

Note:  So it's been a minute, but I only have two weeks left of the semester and then I should have exponentially more time to write. Thank you all for your support and patience, I really appreciate it!

Taglist: 

@tbehartoo @kris-pines04 @thesunanditsangel @constancetruggle @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @rosalineandrosemary @novicevoice @momothefemur  @theymakeupfairies @maskedpainter @mystery-5-5 @dast218 @tip-tap-tired @zerotosiki @rebecarojas07 @bookgirl14 @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @lookatthestars1 @swiftie-miraculer13 @qualitypeacepainter @redbullgivescaswings @toodaloo-kangaroo @kking13 @buginetye

[snicketsleuth]

A chronology/reading order of Lemony Snicket’s works

The works of Lemony Snicket are often a conglomeration of documents from various sources and authors, frequently presented out of order. The following article intends to better classify the aforementioned documents by determining when they were written, forwarded, read and later made available to the general public (e.g. “us”, the readers).

This list has two purposes:

it can be used as a reading order suggestion for people who may want to experience the narrative in a more chronological manner

it is an attempt to put various events in relation to one another and create a more coherent picture of Lemony’s life, particularly regarding the various documents scattered across Lemony Snicket’s un-Authorized Autobiography and The Beatrice Letters.

This list is neither official nor to be taken as granted. In order to make sense of the chronology, some arbitrary decisions and interpretations had to be made. If you do not agree with the logic of the chronology, please feel free to express your views in the comments.

A quick reminder on the abbreviations used within this article:

LSUA = Lemony Snicket’s un-Authorized Autobiography

TBL = The Beatrice Letters

FU:13SI = File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents

For futher references, please also refer to the timeline (Link) whose purpose is to classify events within the series which do not match the creation/publication of a particular document.

More after the cut.

Before “All The Wrong Questions”

An unnamed member of V.F.D. writes a letter to secretary J. regarding the potential recruitment of a young volunteer (LSUA, p.52). The youngster in question is implied to be Daniel Handler himself (according to LSUA’s index).

Lemony meets Beatrice for the first time then sends her an apology note (TBL, LS to BB #1).

During “All The Wrong Questions”

NA (although the supplementary material FU:13SI happens between “When Did You See Her Last?” and “Shouldn’t You Be In School?”).

Between “All The Wrong Questions” and “The Bad Beginning”

Lemony writes to Beatrice about an upcoming expedition (TBL, LS to BB #2).

The official V.F.D. disguise kit manual is written (LSUA, pp.99-108). The recruitment guide (LSUA, pp.189-191) could also have been written at the same time. NB: the disguise kit manual and the recruitment could actually be much older than that. However the disguise kit manual mentions sugar bowls, which implies that it would have been written at around the same time period as the earliest mentions of the sugar bowl (first vineyard letter, LSUA, pp.84-86, see below). Note that sugar bowls are never mentioned in “All The Wrong Questions”, which seems VFD’s obsession with the sugar bowl only started after Lemony graduated and became a dramatic critic.

Lemony writes to Beatrice to warn her that he will soon be appointed as dramatic critic for the “Daily Punctillo” (TBL, LS to BB #3).

Beatrice writes a poem hidden inside the booklet of her play (TBL, last pages) but Lemony fails to notice it.

Lemony writes to Beatrice to schedule a date where he plans to ask her hand in marriage (TBL, LS to BB #4).

Lemony writes a letter regarding his childhood memories to Dr. Charley Patton ( LSUA, pp.8-21) before his intended marriage to Beatrice. An unidentified person will later make notes to this letter, remarking on inconsistencies in Lemony’s testimony.

Lemony writes a scathing review of Olaf’s new play (LSUA, p.77-79), also announcing his upcoming marriage to Beatrice.

Jacques (who is currently working inside the Queequeg) learns of Lemony’s review and writes his brother a letter, telling him 1) to go to Damocles Dock in order to plan his exile, 2) not to contact Beatrice ever again. He also mentions that Lemony should expect to get fired from the Daily Punctillo very soon.

The next day, Eleonora publishes a retractation and announces Lemony is fired (LSUA, p.80). She also announces the beginning of a new column by Geraldine Julienne.

The same week, Lemony manages to slip his rebuttal to Eleonora’s retractation into a morning edition of the newspaper (LSUA, p.81). Eleonora submits a second retraction in the evening edition (LSUA, p.82) and confirms that Geraldine’s column is scheduled to begin the next day.

The Vineyard of Flagrant Drapes writes a letter to Lemony, urging him to cancel the wedding as Olaf plans to crash it (LSUA, pp.84-86). This letter is later acquired by the Duchess of Winnipeg somehow.

After the debacle, Lemony is forced to hide in a VFD headquarter. During that time, the (real?) Captain S. writes instructions to Lemony so he can escape from the country on the Prospero (LSUA, pp.109-111), remarking on Lemony’s firing, and includes tickets with the letter (LSUA, pp.112-113). This letter and the tickets are sent to Larry in Damocles Dock so he can give them to Lemony when he gets there.

A crisis meeting is held with different members of VFD. J., the secretary, writes a live transcript of this meeting (LSUA, pp.33-47). It appears that the “J.” and “K.” characters present at the meeting are not Jacques and Kit, although Daniel Handler appears to be there. Several photographs (LSUA, pp.48-51) will later be added to this transcript. Olaf and Esme crash the meeting, threatening to light it on fire unless the volunteers agree with their demands.

After the meeting, the volunteers have no safe place left in the vicinity. Lemony has nowhere to go. He receives a break-up letter from Beatrice, brought to him by carrier pigeons, and answers back with a coded letter regarding her co-star’s possible duplicity (TBL, LS to BB #5).

Lemony then supposedly receives Jacques’ letter around that time and goes to Damocles Dock. Larry gives Lemony the Captain’s letter and the tickets.

A photograph of the ship is taken on the day it leaves port (LSUA, p.91). The Daily Punctillo publishes an article about the ship’s mysterious departure (LSUA, pp.93-95).

Lemony writes to Beatrice to warn her of an upcoming danger (TBL, LS to BB #6). It seems likely that this message was sent some time before Sunny’s birth but there’s also an argument for Violet’s and Klaus’.

During “The Bad Beginning”

As soon as her learns about the Baudelaire fire, Lemony dispatches Brett Helquist to draw the scene of the crime. Helquist draws the smoldering remains of the Baudelaire mansion and writes a letter to Lemony with said drawings enclosed   (LSUA, pp.182-183). He plans to discuss both documents at the Valorous Farm Dairy where a meeting with Lemony Snicket and photographer Meredith Heuer has been set.

Lemony writes an early draft of the first chapter of “The Bad Beginning” (LSUA, pp.177-178). Babs later receives this early draft and writes a note to Hal (LSUA, p.176) so he can add it to the Snicket file. Lemony also writes a letter to his sister (LSUA, p.192) announcing his intention to write a book on the Baudelaire case.

Between “The Bad Beginning” and “The Reptile Room”

The new dramatic critic of the Daily Punctillo (not Lemony) writes a scathing review of Al Funcoot’s play. Enraged that Olaf is being criticized, Esme writes to Geraldine Julienne to pressure Eleonora Poe into firing the dramatic critic, as well as to enquire about Jerome Squalor’s habits. The critic is fired by Eleronora Poe. Geraldine answers Esme’s letter (LSUA, p.119-120), confirming the new critic’s firing, with a menu of the restaurant at which Jerome usually eats (LSUA, p.121).

Gustav Sebald writes a movie script to warn Montgomery Montgomery of his new assistant and of the survivor of the Baudelaire fire (LSUA, pp.61-65).

The movie is shot. A photograph of a toddler helping Gustav build the snowman is taken, with Gustav not actually appearing in the picture as he was hidden behind the snowman (LSUA, p.71). A photograph of the actor playing Young Rölf is later taken (LSUA, p.53 and p.57). Other miscellaneous pictures of the production are taken during that time (LSUA, p.68, p.69, p.70).

Lemony realizes that Montgomery Montgomery does not know the Sebald code and that the plan needs to be changed. He schedules a meeting with Gustav Sebald near the Swarthy Swamp. On his way to the meeting, Gustav is spotted by Olaf who drowns him.

Lemony arrives at the appointment and waits nineteen hours for Gustav Sebald in the Swarthy Swamp. To pass the time, he writes a letter to the cheesemakers (LSUA, pp.55-60). Lemony is unaware that Gustav is actually already there, drowned at the bottom of the swamp.

Between “The Reptile Room” and “The Wide Window”

A review of “Zombies in the Snow” by Lena Pukalie (an anagram of real-life film critic Pauline Kael) is published (LSUA, p.165) and finds its way to Lemony’s commonplace book.

During “The Wide Window”

A photograph of the Baudelaire orphans on Damocles Dock is taken by a mysterious person. Two copies of this photograph later end up in possession of K./R. (who later sends it to Olivia Caliban a.k.a Madame Lulu).

Between “The Wide Window” and “The Miserable Mill”

Jacques Snicket visits Olivia Caliban at Caligari Carnival and asks her if his brother is alive. She gives him a copy of the photograph which R. sent to her, indicating that Lemony may be currently tracking down the Baudelaire orphans from his taxi. Jacques leaves to investigate Dr. Montgomery’s house as he knows that a book on the secret Mortmain Mountains is kept there. When he arrives, he is surprised to find Quigley. Jacques gives his copy of the photograph to Quigley.

Olaf’s henchmen kill Firstein in Paltryville, intent on replacing him with the Bald Man under the pseudonym of Flacutono. They use the the lumbermill’s machines to destroy Firstein’s remains.  Jacques learns of Firstein’s death and leaves for Paltryville, instructing Quigley to stay behind. In Paltryville, Jacques manages to send his investigation to the Daily Punctillo for an article. But Jacques is discovered by Olaf’s agents and has to flee. Because the body parts are unindentifiable, Detective Smith covers up the murder as the accidental death of an unknown person. Sir does not explain his foreman’s sudden disappearance to the workers. The Daily Punctillo uses Smith’s version for its final version of the article (LSUA, p.118). An earlier edition of Jacques’ article did survive (LSUA, p.117).

Jerome and Esme spend an evening together, at the end of which Esme bullies Jerome into marrying her.

Jerome schedules a wedding at the Vineyard of Flagrant Grapes where Esme hopes to receive the sugar bowl (perhaps because she expects Jacques to attend his friend’s wedding). The vineyard writes back, confirming the wedding but declining Esme’s request (LSUA, pp.84-86). Somehow the Duchess of Winnipeg later manages to get her hand on this letter. Jerome also sends a wedding invitation to Jacques Snicket. Fernald starts working as a doorman at 667 Dark Avenue in order to intercept any letter Jerome may be supposed to receive.

The Duchess fears that keeping the two vineyard letters is no longer safe for her. Unaware that Isaac Anwhistle is dead, she writes a letter to Kit Snicket, asking her to archive the two vineyard letters (LSUA, p.83).

Jacques finds out that Esme plans to marry Jerome in order to access the old V.F.D headquarter at 667 Dark Avenue. Fearing the worst, he writes Jerome a letter (LSUA, pp.122-124), but the wedding happened so quickly that Jerome was probably already married by the time Jacques found out about his engagement. Sometime during Jerome’s and Esme’s honeymoon, Jacques’ letter is intercepted by Fernald who works as a disguised doorman. Fernald and Olaf’s allies analyze Jacques’ letter and find out the village where he is hiding. 

Between “The Miserable Mill” and “The Austere Academy”

An unnamed person adds a photograph of the Quagmire triplets (with a note) to the “Zombies in the snow” file in the Sebald archives (LSUA, p.70). This is because the movie was made for Montgomery Montgomery and Quigley Quagmire eventually escaped from his childhood home to Montgomery’s house.

Lemony Snicket writes Sally Sebald to inform her of Georgina Orwell’s death. Sally answers, informing him of the circumstances in which the survivor of the Baudelaire fire was hidden (LSUA, pp.66-71). Sally also finds the photograph of the Quagmire triplets inside the file and does not understand what it’s doing there. Lemony will later replace the photograph of the triplets with a photograph of people “around the same age”.

During “The Austere Academy”

At this point in time, first editions of “The Bad Beginning” and “The Reptile” apparently already exist. We see excerpts of these two books later on in other documents. This edition finds its way to a library which has recently been overtaken by the tweed-coat-wearing librarian. This is a contentious topic as “The Reptile Room” mentions Klaus and Violet reflecting on its events “years later” even though only a few months/weeks have passed at the time of the book’s publication. One can only assume that these passages are either:

 the result of Lemony making reasonable assumptions on Klaus’ and Violet’s future,

additions which Lemony made years later as he kept updating the books with new details of his investigations (in which case what we, the readers, are reading is not the first edition of the book read by Al Funcoot’s fan, bur rather a later edition). This is plausible because “The Bad Beginning” got an updated edition called “The Bad Beginning: Rare Edition” with additional notes regarding Lemony’s more recent findings on the events depicted in the book.

Al Funcoot (probably Olaf under a pen name) writes to one of his fans, ordering him to investigate the fate of Montgomery’s collection of reptiles. The henchman goes to his local library and reads excerpts of “The Reptile Room” (LSUA, pp.147-148).

The henchman (now disguised as a cow) roams the surrounding of Lousy Lane, looking for survivors of Montgomery’s collection. The henchman noticeably hears the Dissonant Toad who is repeating something he once heard Olaf say. Supposedly the comment made by Olaf on how incovenient it is to drown someone happened the night of Monty’s murder. The toad was in the Reptile Room that night and heard Olaf kill Montgomery, after which he wondered aloud how he was going to dispose of the body. The henchman disguised as a cow also spots the Mamba du Mal as well as other reptiles. The henchman later reaches the Valorous Farm Dairy but does not dare approach the location.

The henchman disguised a cow sends Al Funcoot his own report of the events (LSUA, pp.145-153). The information from his report will later be used by Olaf’s allies to find and kill the survivors of Montgomery’s collection. Only the Incredibly Deadly Viper is now safe for now at the Valorous Farm Dairy.

Growing frustrated with his unsuccessful hunt for the Incredibly Deadly Viper, the henchman disguised as a cow finally works up the courage to ask the cheesemakers about the reptiles. Suspecting his ill intentions, the cheesemakers immediately write a postcard to Lemony so he can be warned that Olaf’s henchmen are looking for reptiles near the Valorous Farm Dairy (LSUA, pp.155-156).

Lemony writes a letter to the Duchess, announcing his intention to attend her Masked Ball (LSUA, p.144) even though the survivors of Montgomery’s collection are being hunted.

Supposedly the events of the Masked Ball happen soon after (Lemony flashes back to the Masked Ball in the beginning of the eleventh chapter of “The Austere Academy”). After the Masked Ball, Coach Genghis arrives at Prufrock Prep (fourth chapter of “The Austere Academy”).

Between “The Austere Academy” and “The Ersatz Elevator”

Jerome, who never received Jacques’ letter, writes Jacques to announce Esme their plans to adopt some children (LSUA, p.125).

Quigley, growing impatient, reads an article of “The Daily Punctillo” which describes his siblings’ kidnapping. He leaves for Paltryville.

Jerome writes a letter to Jacques Snicket, lamenting the fact his friend wasn’t present at his wedding (LSUA, p.125). Esme is planning to acquire the custody of the Baudelaire orphans during that time.

During that time, the tweed-coat-wearing librarian seems to change jobs as he now works at Prufrock Prep. Carmelita Spats runs into him, which earns him an appareance in her autobiography (LSUA, p.171).

During “The Ersatz Elevator”

The Duchess (or somebody impersonating her) writes a letter to Lemony (LSUA, pp.25-28). This letter was supposedly written during the “first few days” that the Baudelaire orphans spent with Esme and Jerome at 667 Dark Avenue (mentioned in Chapter Three of “The Ersatz Elevator”), before Gunther’s arrival.

At the In auction, the Esme Squalor fan club bids on the corpse of the Mamba du Mal. This is reported by the In Auction catalog (LSUA, p.164) and Lemony includes a page of the catalog in his commonplace book.

Lemony sends the cheesemakers a note (LSUA, p.159) with the contents of his commonplace book (LSUA, pp.161-175). The excerpts contained in the commonplace book are intended to warn the cheesemakers of the reptiles of montgomery’s collection and the secret messages/codes they can communicate. One of the excerpts is a newspaper describing how the Mamba du Mal was killed and auctioned.

At the Valorous Farm Dairy, the meeting planned by Meredith, Brett and Lemony goes haywire as they have been spotted by the villain disguised as a cow. The dairy is burned down by the villain but Meredith manages to take one last photograph of the dairy before the fire (LSUA, p.185). The three volunteers flee. Lemony leaves a copy of his drawing of the burned down Baudelaire mansion behind in the commotion.

Detective Smith covers up the arson when reporters of the Daily Punctillo come to investigate the fire. He provides the reporters with Brett’s drawing, unaware that it actually concerns the Baudelaire mansion. The drawing may have ended up in the archives of the Daily Punctillo. The Daily Punctillo publishes an article on the “accident” (LSUA, p.184).

During “The Vile Village”

Lemony receives the suspicious letter from the Duchess at Veblen Hall while he’s interviewing witnesses about who was driving the car on the day the Quagmire triplets were smuggled out of the city by Olaf. He fears that someone may be impersonating the Duchess and writes a note about it (LSUA, p.30).

While the Baudelaire orphans are working at the Village of Fowl Devotees, Arthur Poe meets his sister Eleonora Poe in Damocles Dock. Their conversation is recorded by a mysterious individual (LSUA, pp.134-137). The transcript of the recording is later found by an unnamed individual.

During “The Hostile Hospital”

Olaf (under the alias of Al Funcoot) knows that the Baudelaire orphans are probably somewhere in the Hinterlands and that they’ll soon try to use a telephone or a telegram machine. In order to thwart them, he writes to Eleonora Poe under the alias of Al Funcoot, convincing her to publish articles about the danger of telephone poles and fake telegrams, and later writes to an unnamed person about said article. Esme also manages to phone/write Geraldine Julienne, ordering her to lock up Eleonora Poe once the articles are published.

Eleonora writes to Arthur Poe, warning him of the danger of fake telegrams. The telegram sent by the Baudelaire orphans in the Last Chance General Store (LSUA, p.140) reaches Arthur’s bank some time later and is as such ignored.

During "The Carnivorous Carnival”

While the Baudelaire orphans try to use the phone at Caligari Carnival, the unnamed person chops down the telephone poles. This ends the connection, leaving the Baudelaire orphans confused as to why the person on the other end isn’t responding anymore. Later on, the unnamed person writes back to “Al Funcoot” (LSUA, p.132-133), thanking him for the article.

Kit roams the financial district looking for scraps of newspapers. She writes a note about that to the cheesemakers (LSUA, letter on pp.75-76). The note and the scraps of newspapers are later found by an unknown person (LSUA, note to file on p.75).

During “The Slippery Slope”

Geraldine Julienne locks up Eleonora in the basement of the Daily Punctillo’s building. Eleonora sends a telegram to her brother (LSUA, p.141), but the message is ignored by Arthur Poe on the account of her article.

During “The Grim Grotto”

As he’s following the Baudelaire orphans’ footsteps, Lemony writes a letter to his sister Kit Snicket, instructing her to meet him at the Hotel Denouement, and slips it into the pages of the manuscript (end of Chapter Five) of “The Slippery Slope”. It’s extremely unlikely Kit ever received the manuscript as she seems to believe her brother is dead in “The End”. Indeed the V.F.D. meeting scheduled at Hotel Denouement happens during “The Penultimate Peril”, which would leave barely a day for said manuscript to be forwarded to Kit. One can only assume that the letter was kept within the manuscript and never removed (for sentimental reasons?). Interestingly the letter does not specify a date and “Hotel Denouement” could refer to the underground library beneath the pond rather than the building on the surface, which means that said meeting could have been scheduled much later than the building’s eventual destruction.

Arthur Poe sends a thank-you letter to Eleonora (LSUA, pp.138-139), including the two telegrams he received (LSUA, pp.140-141).

During “The End”

Remora slips on a banana peel and quits his job at Prufrock Prep. Kit Snicket is hired to replace him and teaches at Prufrock Preparatory School for a few days. This supposedly happens during the “days” the Baudelaire orphans live with the Islanders doing pretty much nothing on the Island (this undefined time period is described in Chapter Five of “The End). A photograph (LSUA, p. 127 and p. 142) is taken of Kit “supervizing” the children during gym class. Genghis and Tench no longer teach at Prufrock, so without anyone to teach them the Prufrock students just sit around looking at a camera during their gym class. During that time, Kit also seems to write a note (LSUA, p.154) about receiving the postcard intended for Lemony by the Prufrock librarian.

The Daily Punctillo publishes an article warning parents about their children reading forbidden books. The Spats parents send that article to Nero who subsequently fires Kit Snicket and writes back to the Spats parents in gratitude (LSUA, pp.129-131).

After “Chapter Fourteen”

Lemony eventually publishes an updated edition of “The Bad Beginning” with additional notes (The Bad Beginning: Rare Edition) in which he announces his intention to release the thirteenth and final volume of “A Series Of Unfortunate Events”.

Lemony is officially declared by the authorities. The Daily Punctillo publishes an official declaration of death, announcing a burial even though no body was identified (LSUA, p.3, see also the back cover with Lemony’s note). Lemony attends his own burial where photographs are taken (LSUA, p.4 and p.7). Lemony writes a note to explain the photograph and the Daily punctillo clipping and adds it to the Autobiography file (LSUA, pp.5-7).

Beatrice Baudelaire Jr eventually learns of his uncle and his research on the Baudelaire file. She starts tracking him down and sends him several letters (TBL, BB to LS #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5). Lemony does not answer these letters as he believes the author of these letters to be Esme impersonating Beatrice Baudelaire Sr.

Beatrice Baudelaire Jr eventually meet in person at a party. During the party, Beatrice Baudelaire Jr writes her uncle an apology note (TBL, BB to LS #6). Daniel Handler later writes about this party (LSUA, pp. ix-xvii and p.193) and the autobiography is finally published.

Lemony decides to publish the letters of both Beatrices and writes a letter to his editor (TBL, foreword). The final volume of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” (including “Chapter Fourteen”, which seems to have been written conjointly with Beatrice Baudelaire Jr) and “The Beatrice Letters” are then published.

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

Sunrise Shadows

Rating: G 1,882 Gen AO3

It was late, or early depending on your perspective, and Steph was that bone deep tired that came after a fight to save the fate of the world. Which was fine, they’d won, but she didn’t really know where in the world she was and Steph really just wanted to crawl into bed. Maybe take her suit off first. Possibly slap some Neosporin on her cuts and scrapes. But mostly sleep.

She flicked through the channels on her comm, trying to find one not already filled with chatter. The all clear had been called about ten minutes ago now and clean up was well underway. But Steph was a Bat so it’s not like she could be much help clearing rubble or relocating displaced civilians. Her skills lay in kicks to the face, sassy remarks, and boots on the ground interpersonal interactions. Heck, not to mention she was only sixty percent sure she was currently standing in Prague. It might be Vienna. All Steph could do now was sit on the rooftop and wait.

The sun was rising on her left and she had lost track of time at some point but Steph was fairly certain it’d been dark in Gotham when she left. Taking a zeta from the Batcave to the Watchtower and stomping down the glee she still got whenever the computer announced her arrival as Batgirl.

Oracle was coordinating everything from the Clocktower which was lucky because the chaos on the comms made it sound like the Watchtower’s tech was down. No wonder she was still sitting here watching the sun rise over Eastern Europe. No Watchtower, no teleporting back to Gotham. Plus, the speedsters and, well, everyone else sounded a little busy. Making Steph with her super minor injuries, minimal destruction of public property, and... blondeness? (She was really tired; her brain was running out of battery and the internal monologue was losing steam) very low on the list of priorities.

Kicking her feet a bit, Steph allowed herself to get comfy on the edge of the roof. Thankfully, her thigh belt made it through today’s encounter meaning her snack supply did too. Steph pulled a chocolate chip granola bar out and tore it open with relish. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she started chewing. Then her stomach growled.

Steph was on her third granola bar and making a physical note in her phone to restock once she slept when she heard her name as part of the litany of sound that floated across the main channel.

“Batgirl? Batgirl this is Oracle, please respond.”

“This is Batgirl,” she said quickly, before someone could interrupt. The Flashes had been narrating rescues without realizing it seemed.

“I’m pinging your location as still in Prague, is this correct?”

Huh, Steph had been right the first time. “Uh, yeah O. I’m just waiting for retrieval.”

“Noted. Sorry about the delay. Dispatching a pickup to your current location.” Babs was all business as the abrupt cut of her switching to a different channel echoed over the line.

Steph waited, check ins and confirmations filling the empty space Oracle had left. She was still listening in, they all knew, just having a private conversation with whoever was playing ferry. Which honestly was kind of weird. Who wasn’t on the main channel right now? And what made them so special the almighty Oracle deigned to give them their own channel in the middle of all this? Ok, end of all this, but still. Steph was Babs’s friend, protege, pain in the ass, and she didn’t even get a private page.

“Oracle to Batgirl,” Babs came back, brusque. Though Steph thought it was just a mix of exhaustion and the voice modulator.

“This is Batgirl,” Steph tried for chipper and landed somewhere decidedly south of it. Honestly, she was just glad everyone else on the line had gone silent at the word ‘Oracle.’

“Please keep your current location, pickup will be arriving soon.”

Steph didn’t even get the chance to say thanks before Babs was moving on to the next thing, which was apparently sending Blue Beetle to help with a fire in San Antonio.

Turning her mic off, Steph settled in. Soon meant anywhere from five minutes to an hour in these types of things. At least she had a nice view and some snacks left in the meantime.

Movement out of the corner of her eye had her turning away from the sunrise. A shadow on the rooftop behind her seemed to shift. Steph blamed her growing exhaustion for making her see things but the shadows seemed to deepen, darken even as the sun climbed.

Instincts kicked in, Steph swung her legs around and scrambled from the edge of the roof. She flicked her bo staff out. Stepping lightly, Steph crept towards the spreading darkness. It was off, the kind of weird that put her on high alert. And it was getting impossibly darker.

Something seemed to be taking shape in the blackness, moving towards her from the depths. Steph was reminded suddenly of Peter Pan as a lone figure of shadow separated itself from the rest.

In a blink, Steph wasn’t looking at a man made of shadow, but a man. An impeccably dressed man with a top hat, dark glasses, and a silver topped cane that glinted in the morning light.

He smiled at her, but Steph didn’t change her stance. “You must be Batgirl,” he said in an accent Beryl would describe as posh. Steph suddenly missed Beryl and hoped that Knight and Squire made it out of today unscathed.

“And you are?” Steph tried for snarky as she lowered her bo staff to point at him. If he knew who she was then maybe he’d know better than to pick a fight with her. Steph was so tired she didn’t actually think she could win. She feared she wouldn’t even be able to hold him off until her pickup got here.

“The Shade,” he smiled as he said it and there was something more than pride.

Steph narrowed her eyes, but otherwise didn’t move. “I’ve heard of you. Whose side are you on today?”

“Always my own,” the smile twisted into a smirk at his joke. “Though currently I am assisting your Justice League.”

Cautiously, Steph collapsed her staff and straightened. “Technically, I’m also a private contractor. I’m guessing you’re my ride?”

He hummed and Steph couldn’t tell if he was annoyed and hiding it with amusement or amused and hiding it with annoyance. “I apologize for the wait. There was a bit of a misunderstanding between myself, a Mr. Constantine, and a, uh, Phantom Stranger about who was to come here and who was to fetch the Teen Titans from South America. Apparently, their jet was rendered inoperable.”

Steph laughed to herself at Tim and his team getting stuck. She could just imagine Rose and Cassie arguing. The demigoddess and ex-assassin both too worn out to do anything but snipe at each other. Or maybe Cassie and Kon were doing cleanup, leaving the rest to wait like Steph had.

The beginning of The Shade’s apology came back around to the forefront of Steph’s mind. It explained why Babs had switched to another line, that was a list of some relatively antisocial/social to only very specific people magic users. They probably weren’t too thrilled to be used as a superhero ride share either. So, their own line? Made sense.

“Totally understandable,” Steph waved off. “It’s not like I have anywhere else to be.”

The Shade smiled and inclined his head. “Thank you, Miss Batgirl. Now, if you would?” He held out a gloved hand, though his gloves were silk compared to her own reinforced leather with proprietary Wayne Tech rubber grips.

Still a tad leery, Steph’s desire to go home and fall asleep far outweighed any concern over going anywhere with The Shade. He wasn’t a Gotham villain, arguably wasn’t a villain at all, and she did kind of have a monthly midnight brunch with Harley and Ivy. And Selina seemed to have permanently moved into the Manor. Not to mention Steph started her crimefighting career stopping Cluemaster, her dad. So, Steph took his hand.

He took a step back into the shadows and Steph went with him. She caught him glance at her out of the corner of her eye as the shadows rose up and began twisting around her ankles first. He seemed surprised, but Steph was just as at home in the shadows as him. Granted, the inky darkness that was consuming them faster by the moment was darker and much much colder than the ones she was used to. Not to mention sentient.

Soon, Steph was surrounded by the darkness. She no longer felt entirely real. The only way Steph was even sure she existed was the weight of another hand holding hers. Her thoughts came and went before she could even register them. Suddenly, it all came back to her: Steph was being taken back to Gotham courtesy of The Shade and his shadows. She couldn’t see him but the grip on her hand told her he was there, somewhere in the black. That grip began tugging her forward and Steph walked.

One step.

Two step.

Three step.

The world around her seemed to lighten incrementally, though Steph had no idea how she was able to tell.

Four step.

Five step.

On the sixth step the darkness lifted, uncurling from around her until she was left standing on the rooftop of the GCPD in the shadow of the Batsignal. An inky puddle under her feet and a few tendrils still slipping off her calves.

The Shade lifted their linked hands, almost as if he was passing her off at a ball in a period film. Steph took her cue, walking towards the floodlight that shone in the still night sky. She let go of his hand once she was firmly in its glow.

Steph turned back to him though, wanting to thank him before he disappeared. What came out of her mouth instead was “That was so strange.”

He chuckled, “That generally is the sentiment when I accompany someone.”

“What’s the sentiment when you don’t?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“Abject terror.”

“Ah.” Well she did ask. His smile flickered somewhere in the direction of sly. “Right,” Steph sighed. “I just wanted to thank you for this. I know you’d rather not do this-”

“Understatement.”

“-but I really appreciated it. So, thanks.”

He tipped his hat in an absurdly gentlemanly way. “You’re very welcome. Just, don’t expect it to happen again.”

“Noted.” And then Steph did something that could only be chalked up to extreme exhaustion.

Steph shot finger guns at The Shade.

He smirked and the shadows gathered around him. The Shade stepped backwards into the growing darkness. Then he was gone.

Smacking her head, Steph turned towards her apartment. She flicked on her mic as she pulled out her grapple. The voices in her ear had disappeared when she went into the shadows but came back as soon as she stepped out of them.

“Batgirl to Oracle,” she cut in and swung out over Gotham.

“Go for Oracle.”

“Consider me home and signing off for... Signing off.”

[sebeth]

Babs-a-thon, Part 3

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

Batgirl Special (1988) by Barbara Randall and Barry Kitson.

Barbara Randall was the writer of Secret Origins #20.

We start with a Cormorant flashback: “Four years ago, Cormorant killed me.  I was so proud.  I thought I was cheating an assassin of his assignment.  But she wasn’t his target.  The bullets cut through my pride first.  In the pain, I completely forgot about his hostage. Luckily the girl ran away.  I saved myself.  He thought I was dead.  But he’d killed part of me, reduced my world to a haze of pain and self-protection.  I’d never been hurt before.  Not like that.  I’d been an innocent hero.  Cormorant changed that.’

I researched Cormorant and he debuted in Detective Comics #491 (1980) in the “Assassination of Batgirl” story.  I haven’t read the story and the images are a bit confusing.  We know from the Secret Origins flashback and from page 1 of the Batgirl special that Cormorant shot a dummy dressed like Batgirl and it fell from a building.  Bab’s narration implies that she herself was shot but the art doesn’t show any wounds. Has anyone read the original story – was Barbara actually shot?

I find it interesting that Barbara encountered many of the Gotham rogues and it’s a garden-variety assassin that deeply traumatized her.  I don’t doubt Barbara’s heroism but she did begin her Batgirl career with a “thrill of the adventure” motive.  Cormorant seemed to be her wake-up call that the vigilante lifestyle isn’t all fun and games.

We return to the present and Barbara has resumed her librarian career.  There is a dead man with a knife in his back laying in the aisle.

Bab’s immediately suspects Cormorant: “That was four years ago, but it never stops happening.  He’s been killing me in my dreams ever since. Every time I’m scared, I see him. Every time I dream of him, I wake up shaking.  And now this. A murder right under my nose, in my library.  Did he leave the hat to taunt me?  Does he know who I am?  Doesn’t matter.  This time I’ve got him cold.  Nice of him to leave his calling card.  Hope his head gets cold without it.”

There’s the Babs I know – she may be scared but she doesn’t back down from a challenge.

Barbara dispatches another librarian to call the police while she inspects the crime scene: “Cormorant’s behind this – I know it!  I should never have ignored him for so long.  How could I have been so stupid! ��By not going after Cormorant after he tried to kill me, I’ve left him free to kill again!  He was my responsibility, and I’ve failed!  Well, now’s the time to fix things!”

The hat is a flimsy clue – Barbara’s trauma/fixation on Cormorant is causing her to exclude other suspects.

Babs removes a note from the dead body: “Sorry, guys.  But I know who the killer is and this may help me find him.”

Um, Barbara, you actually don’t know who the killer is.  Also, as the daughter of a police commissioner, you should know that removing possible evidence is a no-no.  It won’t to any good to catch Cormorant if you’ve removed evidence that could lead to his conviction.

The corpse is identified as David Scarrano.  Bab’s discovers he is the son Anthony Paul Scarrano a.k.a. General Scarr a.k.a. the man who hired Cormorant to assassinate Batgirl.

Babs researches David’s past: “He’s got a history of arrests without convictions – Scarr must be putting pressure on somebody big.  All his crimes are violent.  Cross-check shows all female victims.  His father must have decided he was becoming a liability and sent his top assassin after him.”

Barbara heads home and inspects her gear: “I have a particular routine I follow when I’m going to go out.  It’s a weapons check, but more.  My personality is also checked, reined in – I’m all business on a case.  After all, my life depends not only on careful preparation, but on my staying alert and aware…Everything checks out but me.  I’m so tired and scared I’ve got to sleep or I’ll tremble myself to death…Cormorant’s been quiet for years…Why’d he choose now to come back?  And what am I going to do when I see him?  What if he hurts me again?”

5:04 am: A body is dropped in front of the Gotham City Police 13th Precinct Station. The body has a note attached to it: “I don’t care for killing, but it must be done.  This man and others like him have committed foul crimes against woman and gone free.  If no one else will come forward to stop the abuse, the fear, them I must.  I am justice.  I am the hand that delivers womankind from fear with a single slash.”

Yeah, it’s safe to say Cormorant isn’t the killer.  Gotham media names the killer “Slash”.

9:05 am: Barbara is woken by the arrival of Marcy.  Marcy, Barbara’s childhood best friend, debuted in Secret Origins #20.

Babs is wearing a “U2” nightgown so Babs must be a fan of Bono and company.

Marcy has a few questions for Barbara: “What the hell do you think you’re doing?  Did you think I wouldn’t who ‘Batgirl’ was?  Do you think this is a game or something?  Did you ever stop to think about how worried I’d be when I found out you were out there risking your life just to get your jollies? Do you want to get yourself killed or something?”

Babs calms Marcy down and the girls spend the morning catching up.  Babs brings out a photo album that contains photos of Jason Bard.

Jason was the great romance of pre-Crisis Barbara.  Babs notes “Jason Bard.  I spent a lot of time with him.  We lost touch when I ran off to Congress.”

The above line indicates the Babs-Jason romance is over but early issues of Birds of Prey (written by Chuck Dixon) have the couple engaged.  Barbara reveals the engagement ended because Jason “couldn’t protect her” from the Joker.

I’m not sure how Jason would be able to protect Barbara as he wasn’t even in the building during the Killing Joke.  Let’s chalk it up to an out-of-character moment for Babs due to Chuck Dixon’s desire to kickstart the Babs-Dick romance.  Dixon needed to end Bab’s only major romance so he went with the easy option of “my man couldn’t protect me” route.  The engagement and subsequent break-up is completely unnecessary as the “Batgirl Special” states that the duo couldn’t make the long-distance relationship work.

Slash murders Mr. Iverson: “I have just killed you.  I have done this because of your crimes against women.  You will die here on the street, Mr. Iverson, and no one will help you. Just as no one could help them: Leticia Munoz, Crystal Kale, Kathryn Bautier.”

Slash is masked and sporting a trench coat and a Cormorant-style hat.  Slash later removes the coat revealing a Frances Kane-style costume with plenty of knives.  Slash is definitely female.

Barbara researches Cormorant’s current location – a home in Westchester County registered under the name of Edward Wells.  

Babs’ obsession with Cormorant continues.  The police and media have ascertained the killer is female but all Babs sees is Cormorant.

Babs heads to Westchester County to confront Cormorant: “If I don’t face up to him alone. I’ll never stop being afraid of him!  And I’ll never know if I could.”

Cormorant is watching tv as his bruised wife brings him dinner.  Cormorant receives a call – he has been hired to eliminate Slash.  The identity of the caller isn’t revealed but a safe bet would be General Scarr.

Cormorant’s excited to hunt Cormorant: “This Slash’s been pretty brave against unarmed men.  We’ll just have to see how she handles someone tougher…”

Batgirl cases the house from a nearby tree: “He’s cleaning weapons.  But I haven’t actually seen him commit any crimes.  Even if I know he’s guilty, I can’t attack him.  But he’ll try again, try to kill someone else. When he does, I’ll be ready for him. But not now.”

Marcy pulls up and orders Babs into the car.  Marcy wisely points out that Babs should call in Batman or the cops to assist her in the case.

The duo enter Gotham and Babs hears a scream.  Babs tracks the source of the scream only to discover Nightwing and Robin have beaten her to it.  Yay for Dick and Jason working together!

An anonymous woman hires Slash to kill Cormorant.  We can safely guess the identity of the woman.

Babs investigates the next likely murder victim – Anthony Caterino.

Marcy warns Babs: “You’ve got to watch it.  Being too obsessed can get in the way of your instincts.  Don’t blind yourself to the obvious.  You really need to ease off or you’ll crack!”

Marcy is full of great advice – it’s too bad we never see her again after this issue.  It’s established that Marcy has moved to Gotham but we never see her again.  Did Babs push Marcy away in the aftermath of the Killing Joke?

Batgirl interrupts Slash’s murder of Anthony Caterino.  Slash requests Batgirl to join her.  Babs informs Slash: “I catch them, not kill them.  I let the courts decide who’s guilty.

Slash gains the upper hand and murders Caterino.

Batgirl warns Slash: “Watch your back, woman.  I’m coming to get you.  I don’t buy your lies.  No killing is justified ever.”

“Once upon a time, Cormorant killed me.  I’ve been dying ever since.  But I’ve never let it stopped me.  Never. Until now.  Then the dream comes and he’s after me again, only now he’s got a partner.  They chase me and kill me, over and over and over again.  I’m too scared to stop them.  Why bother?  Just let them come and end the pain, end my…no.  I give up.  I’m tired of hurting.  God, I can’t feel my arm!  I can’t do this!  I give up. I quit.  Batgirl’s through.”

I love Bab’s characterization in the Crisis of Infinite Earths, Secret Origins, and the Batgirl Special.  Bab’s doubts and the struggles she endures ring true to me.  

Bab’s returns home and Marcy patches her up.  Marcy reminds Babs: “You’ve got your memory.  Your intelligence.  Use them.”

Despite the “I quit” moment from the night before Babs is back on the case: “I can’t stand the thought of leaving loose ends.”

Babs patrols from 1 am to 7am but doesn’t see any action as any potential encounter is resolved by another hero: “I’m just a minor force among heroes these days.  This city – this world – is well protected without my help.”

Barbara decides to leave the capture of Slash for the other heroes and focus on Cormorant: “When he’s caught, Batgirl can retire in peace!”

Batgirl confronts Cormorant at his house only to be interrupted by Slash.  A three-way brawl interrupts and Babs contemplates leaving: “I could just let them kill each other, then step in and sort out the pieces. No, that’s not what being a hero’s all about.”

Cormorant has Babs cornered and she throws a knife to save him from Slash: “Who do I save – him or myself? There’s no choice.  I can’t let anyone take a life I can save!”

Cormorant exclaims: “Hey! You knifed her!  You saved me! Just like all women, eh?  Pretend to hate men, then do anything to save us! Well, babe, I appreciate the save, but it doesn’t mean you’re off the hook!  I’m still gonna take you out…now, Batgirl, we’re gonna have some fun.”

Babs disgustedly states “No” and opens a can of whup-ass on Cormorant.

Cormorant’s wife hands Slash a gun while the duo fight.  Slash shoots Cormorant in the head.

Babs heads home and hands Marcy her Batgirl costume: “I just finished my last case.  Batgirl’s all finished.  There’re others out there now who can do this as well or better than me, with less pain.  I’ll help them, maybe without letting them know.  But I’m done going out there myself…It’s like starting a brand-new life, one where I don’t need this.”

Marcy wonders if “there’s another little Babs out there right now?”

Babs responds: “I hope not. But if there is, maybe I’ll talk her out of it.  Or give her the costume.”

DC had been attempting to retire Batgirl since the late 1970s.  The ‘Batgirl Special” nicely accomplishes it.  Babs has hung up the costume but can be brought back as Batgirl at any time.  We even have foreshadowing for an Oracle-type role or as a mentor to a new Batgirl.

The end of Barbara’s story, right?  Not exactly. Instead of leaving Barbara on a shelf where a future writer can remove for a story, she’s rudely stuffed into a fridge in “The Killing Joke”.

I’m not spending much time on the “Killing Joke”.  A subpar story with the only positive being Brian Bolland’s art.  The story is insulting to Babs – she’s off-handedly crippled by the Joker and the photos adds more salt to the wound.  Batman sharing a laugh with the Joker at the end? Completely infuriating!

Barbara receives a one-panel cameo in “A Death In The Family” when she attends Jason Todd’s funeral. Bet you’re not laughing now, Bruce!

Barbara was not close to the Wayne family at this point in the comics – she isn’t aware of Batman or either Robin’s secret identities so I assume she’s attending the funeral to support her father – a close friend of Bruce Wayne.  Babs is wheelchair-bound so “A Death In The Family” takes place soon after “The Killing Joke”.

Babs-a-thon part 4 will feature the early days of Oracle: Batman Chronicles, the Suicide Squad, and Showcase.

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

Gotham City Ghostbusters 8

BAT-Girls

ao3

Next Chapter | Previous Chapter

To Barbara, Bruce was like an uncle and she loved being able to spend time with him. Because unlike her father, he wasn’t afraid to tell her things about the city’s ghosts and how to get rid of them. But what she loved even more was when he went out of town on business and she could get the run of the cave, especially since her accident.

Barbara never blamed Jason, even if he blamed himself. He couldn’t control his actions and she was the one who opened the door thinking it was one of her close friends. She hadn’t even thought anything was out of the ordinary until he drew the knife.

The rest of the night had been a blur of florescent lights and hospital scrubs. The way her artery had been slit meant that she should have died, or at the very least lost her leg. Thanks to modern technology, thanks to Bruce, she didn’t lose either. But what became of her leg afterward is what was being called a “phantom limb”. Like a ghost it had remained when the natural order said it should not and because of that it did not always move the way it should and occasionally felt unstable and insubstantial. Requiring her to use a crutch, even if she didn’t always need it, because there was no telling when her leg would no longer take weight.

She took this as a challenge.

Bruce believed it to be a liability, even if he never said it to her. Why else would he keep her from the cave? The boys may have been benched too but they at least still had limited access.

With him away for business though Barbara had free reign. She maneuvered herself easily between the different work tables and equipment, crutch in one hand and Wayne Tech tablet in the other. Barking orders at Tim who ran around gathering supplies for her she set to work on their much needed gadgets while Dick and Jason started with the training.

“Tim!” she called across the cave. “Do you know how to use that beautiful monstrosity of a 3D printer?”

Tim poked his head out of the storage locker he was raiding for extra electrum, “Yeah? Why?”

“Because, I’m done with the design for Steph’s bat and need someone to run the program while I get to work on those goop-a-rangs.” Tim took his armful of broken and bent electrum and dropped it into the oversized funnel that would melt it down for use in their 3D printer that was really more of a mold and metal casting machine than anything. She just liked referring to it as a 3D printer because it ran on similar programing. He snatched the tablet from her as she settled herself into a seat in front of the main worktable.

Years ago it had been discovered that a gelatinous, high-density substance could coat ghosts, stick them to walls and ceilings, and render them powerless. It was Babs’ weapon of choice when she was running around with Bruce and Dick before her accident. After it she had designed her own program to create a electrum crutch with the capabilities of firing the beloved goop. Dick had used his cave access to build it for her and Jason kept her in steady supply of the goop cartridges. She was currently trying to improve on her designs on the weaponized slime and create an armada of goop-grenades and goop-a-rangs rather than having to fire the substance from a gun like her crutch.

After running them through their paces Jason, Dick, and Damian brought over a very exhausted looking Steph, Duke, and Harper and a very mischievous looking Cass. They crowded around Babs and her table, examining the tech there. Duke reached his hand out to fiddle with a half-wired grenade and Barbara slapped it away, “Don’t touch.”

He quickly cradled his hand to his chest and shot her a wounded look that she merely shrugged off. “So…” Harper started, looking at the mess. “When do I get to build mine? You said I could.”

Babs passed her the tablet that Tim had returned and explained, “These are blueprints of previous or current models of tech in use by Bruce as well as my own designs. Anything on the tables – except these, don’t touch these –” she shot Duke a look, “is free reign. Have fun. Don’t blow anything up.”

“Do you know what is effective?” Tim asked kindly.

Harper rolled her eyes and began ticking off her fingers, “Electrum, high-voltages of electricity, and that funky gunk. Plus wards and those crazy weird laser grids.”

“Good. Have fun.” Babs said, her attention focused on soldering wires.

“What do you guys have?” Duke asked, genuinely curious.

“Well Dickiebird has those pretty escrima sticks. Only thing any of us has that’s officially Wayne Tech. They’re super high-voltage electricity on the one end. And then Babs has that wonderful crutch of hers, shoots goop. Damian has that pretentious electrum sword. Then I have these gorgeous twin pistols.” At this he pulled them out of the holster on his hip. “Fire bursts of goop. Made them myself.”

“-tt- They also occasionally misfire, coating Todd in that disgusting slime,” Damian said with a slightly exaggerated eye roll.

Jason just shrugged it off, “Eh, I’m still working out some of the kinks.”

“What about you two?” Duke motioned to Tim and Cass.

“I, have this!” Tim said a little too dramatically and pulled his collapsible bo staff from his pocket. Duke quirked an unimpressed eyebrow. “It’s like Dick’s escrima sticks so it’s got like a super high voltage taser in it, but I made it myself.”

Duke nodded, slightly more impressed and turned to Cass who just shrugged, “Me?”

“Cass can hold her own just fine but these goop grenades are going to be hers.” Babs said as she soldered a few more wires together. Cass clapped her hands and grinned while Steph bumped her hip against her friend’s side.

“Alright! It’s done!” Harper called out, holding up a monstrosity of a weapon.

“That was fast,” Dick told her, looking the large gun over. “Uh… What’s it do?”

“It shoots arcs of electricity. I want to be an electrical engineer and with access to this kinda stuff? Piece of cake,” Harper smirked proudly and propped the gun against her shoulder. Cass shot her fingers guns like Steph had shown her, causing Harper to blush a deep red. Barbara refocused her attention onto the work at hand when she heard a “DING!” from her beloved printer. “Tim! Go get Stephanie her bat.”

“Ha! Get it! I’ll be a BAT-girl!” The blonde was elbowing Damian in the ribs, trying to get their stoic youngest to crack a grin to no avail. Damian just gave her his signature -tt- before walking away.

Tim had wrapped the handle with a special purple grip tape that Barbara had picked up just for the younger girl before he presented it to Steph with a flourish. “Your weapon of choice m’lady,” he said with a deep bow.

Steph snatched the solid electrum bat from Tim with a grin, “Thanks Babs! It’s exactly what I wanted!”

“The end should flick down to reveal a button to fire a goop grenade. Also were you access the refill latch. I’ll give you them once I’m done, until then go with Tim and get a feel for it.” The younger girl smiled even wider at Barbara before skipping off deeper into the cave, Tim just behind her.

“So… What about me?” Duke asked, pulling a chair over to sit beside her.

“Well you never said what you wanted. Harper! Can you stop flirting with Cass and bring me my tablet back?”

Dick and Jason, who had been at the large computer screen behind her chuckled as the blue haired girl blushed again. Cass just smiled slyly, snatched the tablet off the table and handed it to Barbara. She pulled up the menagerie of blueprints and began showing them to Duke.

“Anything interesting?” He shook his head so she continued to show him print after print. “Nothing?” Duke frowned a little and Babs nodded. “This stuff is too impractical for you. It’s ok, you’re a smart guy! I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

“You do?” Duke asked her skeptically.

Babs smirked, that pitch was what got her top sales clerk at the bookstore she worked in part time. “Containment. What’s the good in hunting ghosts if you’ve got nowhere to put them.”

Duke blinked, “Uh, yeah actually. I was kinda thinking about that.”

Barbara nodded and opened up a new folder, the designs in here were all for capturing and holding ghosts rather than just dispatching them into the hereafter.

She once again began flipping through but this time Duke stopped her, “That! I want one of those.”

Barbara studied the blueprint he had stopped her on. It was one of her own designs, a compact, hand held vacuum like containment unit that worked on the same principle of sucking up and holding the ghost. “Now this is just a design, I haven’t tried making one of these just yet.”

“That’s ok. I can help,” Duke told her with a wide smile.

She nodded, “Pass me those pliers.”