Batgirl Begins

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

My brain is racing as I change into my suit in the seat behind Dinah. Occasionally, she would shout at Dick, who is seated next to her, to keep his eyes to himself. A few times she even slapped him upside the head. Not sure if she was joking or not... but I feel like my face will permanently be flushed.

"I've found one clear drop point at the west end of the bridge," She says, "Well... Alfred found it. Either way it's up to you two to get any civilians out and squash that bug. Got it?"

"Got it," Dick and I say together.

"The sooner the better... I don't know how much longer Bruce can last."

"I can't imagine him tiring out." I say.

She avoids the topic saying, "Be careful, sis. I'll try and put out the fires for ya."

He must need us and fast. I nod as Dinah brings the plane down low to the safe section of the bridge. She opens the hood, and we jump out, landing safely on the pavement. The sun is starting to set, but the thick smoke makes it look much later. Robin hands me an odd breathing mask and gestures for me to put it on as the wind picks up as the Canary flies away. I put the device over my mouth and nose.

"Can you hear me?" His voice rings over my earpiece.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yep. I'll take the outbound lanes, you take the inbound. If you find a fire, put one of these down by it, so Canary can put it out." He hands me several small devices, around the size of a bottle cap. I put them in one of my empty belt canisters.

"Got it."

I head off into the smoke, watching Robin slowly disappear from view. Scanning the area, it's like a something out of a zombie movie. The air is a brownish black with the sun barely shining through onto the many abandoned cars that are swerved and stopped in various directions in the street. Creepy... at least there's no such thing as zombies right? Wait... does Ra's al Ghul count as a zombie because he's so old? No, he'd be more of a vampire wouldn't he? Focus, Barbara, focus!

I look up to see some sort of a shadow coming through the smoke. What is that? It's getting larger. Crap it's coming straight for me!! I dive roll to the side, pressing my back to the metal barrier as I hear and feel a loud crash against the pavement. I quickly get up and race towards the noise. As I get closer, I can see the shadows of two figures: one with pointed ears and one with wings. Bingo. I can hear them fighting as Batman growls loudly with each hit he takes, bracing his body for the impact. Before I can reach them, Firefly takes off, and Batman soars after him, attached by a grapnel cable.

Okay. I've got a plan... it's not a great one, and I might die but it's all I have. I quickly race along the inbound lanes, searching for any sign of heat. If I'm going to help, I need to see. One by one, I find the source of the flames and drop the trackers near them. By the time I get to the end of the highway, The sky is clearing up, as the sun has almost completely set over the skyline. I look back to see most of the fires out on the westbound side as well, and most importantly, I can see the flames of Firefly's jet pack.

I quickly grab the gadget on my side.

"Canary?" I ask, hoping she could hear me.

"Right here, what do you need?"

"How do I work the grapnel gun?"

"I dunno, point and shoot?" I track the light of the flying bug in the sky as she starts to get the idea. "Barb..."

"I've got to help him, Dinah, don't worry I have a plan."

"On getting up or getting down?"

"More for getting up there."