[Open]

[acro_bat_ic]

Who: Barbara Gordon, and OPEN
What; Reacting to the arena
Where: District 11 quarters. Also, common area.
When; The final week of tournament
Warnings/Notes: lol this is late. ;; (RL things happened.)

There was a surprising amount of numbness involved in coming back to life. Barbara's eyes opened, but she didn't pay attention to what she was seeing. People were rushing all  around her, but she didn't pay any attention to what they were saying. At some point she got up and started walking. 

Eventually, she became aware of something, beyond the fuzz of people walking by. A dark pulse of energy beating beneath her surface, like a second heart. Harder. Larger. She turned it over idly in her mind's eye, imaginary fingertips skimming across the surface. Anger, pain, hurt, grief. she felt a little sob trying to work its way out of her throat, catching in her sealed lips. She trembled.

Why was this so hard?

Comments

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[bratwonder]

About a week or so after the arena ended, another citizen of Gotham found his way into the Capitol. He made his displeasure about being here quite clear, which earned him the attention of a familiar face—one that he'd never been particularly fond of seeing but one that proved to be somewhat helpful here in the information department nonetheless. (But only somewhat, though, because Drake was never useful.)

Knowing that Barbara was here, regardless of the fact that she was supposedly "different," made her a point of interest to Damian. Getting acquainted with the city was a priority, of course, but more important than that was seeking out the others and finding out what he could about them. Naturally, Damian opted for a less direct approach, watching her from a distance instead. If she was as good as the former Batgirl supposedly was, she'd notice him sooner or later, he decided.

So hey, Barbara, you ever get the feeling that you're being watched? ...well, more than usual?! Because Damian Wayne would probably be to blame.

Works fine!

[acro_bat_ic]

It was hard not to feel watched in this place. What with the fact that everyone was watching her and all. Constant supervision could make a girl feel pretty paranoid if she let it...

Still. It's a bit different being watched in person. Eventually it was bound to draw her attention - with her eyes scouting about. She was more used to stalking than being stalked, but... what sort of super her couldn't spot a tail?

[bratwonder]

Although Damian never knew Barbara well personally, he'd had enough training to know what kinds of things to look for. He could pick his father out of a crowd with ease despite never having met him before, so it wasn't that hard to spot Barbara, either. Normally, he might've tried to jump her just to see if she really was Batgirl, but starting a fight in the middle of a crowded street in a place like this? Probably not the best idea. Not without the right resources, which he certainly lacked here.

This place sucked.

So instead, after trailing her for a while, Damian made his way past a few people and called out to her. Dick would totally be proud of his civility.

"Gordon?"

[acro_bat_ic]

No - so long as he kept in mind the differences between this version and the other, anyway. Younger. Not in a wheel chair. She also had brown eyes, instead of... well, what color she was supposed to have seemed to differ by world.

Still, some things - like her last name - don't change; even if the commissioner's her father instead of her uncle or something.

When she heard her last name called out, she froze, twisting about and looking for the speaker.

[bratwonder]

Instead of responding immediately, Damian just gave her a look—an analyzing, critical look. She reacted, and for anyone else, that would be enough, but as the son of Batman, he also felt it necessary to judge whether or not she was worthy of her place.

...nevermind that he was hardly in a position to decide that sort of thing himself.

The critical looked remained even as he spoke up.

"You're supposed to be Batgirl?"

[acro_bat_ic]

Shock - jaw dropping shock - is replaced quickly by indignation and annoyance. That one line, so much like what her Dick is said... for that moment, she's suddenly Batgirl, and he's her Robin: The pixie; The stupid intruder who they so do not need.

He’s also known as her annoying little brother who Barbara will Never Admit Loving..

"And you're supposed to be keeping that quiet," Barbara declared, reaching out to give him a solid poke on the forehead. "You are totally breaking the super hero code!" She paused, glancing around the crowds. Maybe nobody heard.

"Who told you, anyway?"

[bratwonder]

Damian narrowed his eyes at the poke, most certainly annoyed, but otherwise letting her have it. She probably just thought he was another kid, and that was fine. He hadn't sought her out with the intention of proving who he was, though he had no plans to hide it, either.

"Like anyone cares who we are here." ...well, he supposed they might find it "entertaining." But he still thought all of that was stupid and refused to play along. "I just know what to look for."

...also, Tim told him she was here. That kind of helped.

[acro_bat_ic]

"Other than Harley?" not to mention their audience the entire nation. Plus, Bruce; and there was just the plain principle of the thing. Batman might have revealed his identity to half of the Justice League, but Barbara had a lot of pride that only Batman had figured it out.

As for Damian's identity... "What do you mean we?" she asked. Sure, he reminded her of Robin, but...

[bratwonder]

"If she can't figure out who you are just by watching you fight, she's even stupider than she looks."

Of course, that wasn't entirely fair given Damian was trained to notice these things and Harley was... well, Harley, but when had Damian ever played fair? He sure wasn't going to start now.

"I'm like you." He paused. No, no, that wasn't quite right... "But better."

Ah, yes, now that was better.

[acro_bat_ic]

"Female?" she suggested, eyeing him up and down. "Oooh, I know... Olympic hopeful in tights?"

She was just going to ignore the talk about Harley, for now. Defending the clown girl wasn't exactly comfortable territory for her right then.

[bratwonder]

Unimpressed with her first comment, Damian simply frowned. Aside from being unimpressed, though, it totally took him a minute to understand what she was getting at. At least Tim, who wanted to be sure that they actually were from the same place, was a lot more straightforward about it!

"Yes," he answered begrudgingly. "An Olympic hopeful in tights."

[acro_bat_ic]

Forget figuring out where he was from - she'd figured it out already, more or less. No. Barbara was just plain teasing him. He'd said he was like her after all.

"You up to showing me your stuff?" she asked, turning toward the training center. She was going to test his gymnastic abilities. Nobody beat her at gymnastic abilities.

[bratwonder]

Oh. Oh. Like he could say no to a challenge, even if she was younger and clearly inexperienced (you know, according to him). Maybe if he was lucky, she'd put up a better fight than Tim could. He kind of hoped she would, but there was only one way to find out.

"Fine. I'm told you're good, but I'll be the real judge of that."

[acro_bat_ic]

"Trust me," she promised. "Nothing beats Olympic training." It was about on level with Dick, honestly - on level with a kid who'd spent his whole life being trained as an acrobat.

Barbara wasn't the best in the world, but she was good. She was boastful. She thought she could take Damian down.

"Soooo you going to answer the girl question?"

[bratwonder]

This time, Damian let out a huff.

"Ask again and we'll see how well your gymnastics work for you with a broken leg."

And with that, he started off toward the training center. ...he never really was good with jokes. Or teasing. Or anything of the sort.

[acro_bat_ic]

"I bet you talk to all the cute girls that way," she muttered, eyeing his back before moving to follow. She didn't understand why Batman would have picked up someone like this - or revealed their secret to him. Maybe someone else spilled the beans.

She stopped jabbing at him, anyway. Hopefully he knew she was challenging him to an actual match of gymnastics, rather than an out and out spar. A competition of striking targets amid flips was her big thing.

[bratwonder]

He totally does. You know Damian cares about you when he's threatening to break your bones— or something.

Fortunately, the training center wasn't far off, but as they walked, he decided now was as good as ever to start his questioning.

"Tell me about the one who trained you."

Specifically, he wanted to know about the Batman from— well, wherever she was from.

[acro_bat_ic]

...She'll work on your social graces next, Damian. After she's put you in your acrobatic place, and shown what she can do.

"You mean my gym teacher?" Bruce didn't train her. He was good with the punching and the technology - but she was pretty sure she and Robin both could kick his butt when it came to flips.

It was something to comfort herself with when he was training Dick and not training her.

[bratwonder]

"Whatever," he said with a shrug. It didn't occur to him that she meant that literally, either, but hey, he'd figure it out sooner or later, right? Damian left it at that, expecting her to continue.

[acro_bat_ic]

She continued straight into the building, looking for the gymnasium equipment. Or at least an open mat for them to stand on. She was going to test what he was made of.