The door to the Batcave opened, revealing the dimly-lit arsenal Bruce kept here. The air was still damp and cold. Vibe stood by my side as we entered.
"So this is the place?" he asked.
I nodded as I led him in. "This is it."
"Wow," Vibe replied under his breath. He looked around, as if he was taking in the view. "And for the longest time, I always heard it was a myth."
I shook my head. "It's real alright."
"How long has he had this place?" Vibe asked. His goggles were still surveying the area. An excited smile graced his face.
"As long as he's been Batman," I answered.
"I mean, like, how did he manage to get this place to the way it is now?" Vibe added.
"He's Batman, Vibe," I replied, "whatever he wants, he'll always find a way to get."
He nodded his head, the same smile on his face. "That's insane."
I shrugged. "I guess you could say that."
I looked over to see Batwoman over at the control center. She turned her head and looked at us. When her eyes landed on Vibe, she shot up. "The hell is this guy doing in here, Batgirl?" She pulled out a black and red Batarang from her red utility belt. "The Batcave is for personnel only!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Vibe put up his hands. "I come in peace." He paused for a second to get a better look at her. His jaw dropped. "Oh my God, are you Batwoman?"
Batwoman glared at me. "You seriously brought a cosplayer in because you thought he was cute?"
I rose an eyebrow and shook my head. "No. Why the hell would I do that?"
"We both know you have a history of falling for boys in superhero costumes."
I rolled my eyes as I sighed. She really had to dig at me for the time I dated Dick Grayson, the first Robin. "Batwoman, this is not like that." I turned to Vibe. "This is Vibe. He's a superhero like us, and he's on our side."
Batwoman smirked. "A likely story."
"You seriously never heard of Vibe?" Vibe asked.
"Oh, I have," Batwoman replied, "but I can't take my chances." Her eyes carefully examined Vibe. "Especially if he's not sick by now."
Vibe shrugged. "Luck, maybe?"
"Oh, cut the shit," Batwoman shot back.
My eyes widened. "Do you think he's a suspect?"
"Most of the men are sick by now. Only the shut-ins wouldn't be sick unless he was behind it all."
"Besides, I thought we pinned it on Joker."
"No one is cut out except for the sick."
"Then for all you know a female could've easily done it!" I shot back.
Vibe chuckled a bit. "I'll admit, I have some brains, but I'm not smart enough to create an illness out of thin air. My powers wouldn't even allow me to do it."
Batwoman rose an eyebrow, but it was a little harder to see because of her mask. "What are your powers, Vibe?"
"Oh, uh," Vibe muttered, "okay." He cleared his throat. He pointed his palm down at the floor. A light blue breach formed below his feet and fell through. He popped up behind Batwoman from a breach.
Batwoman turned around, her eyes slightly wide. Her face was still straight. "So you can teleport?"
He shook his head. "Not just teleport." Vibe put up his hand to the ceiling. Suddenly, a blue vibe blast shot out of his palm. It bounced around the front of the Batcave, ricocheting off the lights before striking the arsenal of some of the gadgets. He gritted his teeth at that as he sucked in his breath. "Did not factor the ricochet ability."
Batwoman sighed and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Batwoman," Vibe replied, "I didn't mean to at all."
"At least you aren't who we're looking for." She went back to the control center. "You can stay."
A wide grin appeared on Vibe's face. "Really?"
"Just don't blast at any more of the gadgets."
Vibe bounced lightly, from the balls of his feet.
As I watched this, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. "Anyways," I said, "I think we should fill Vibe in, Batwoman."
Vibe's bouncing stopped, as if trying to restrain himself. "Oh, yeah." He paused for a second. "Do we have any possible leads?"
"The only real lead we have is Joker," Batwoman answered, "to be honest, any other culprits would be unimaginable, considering the symptoms."
"But why would the Joker release a disease to make people look in his image? What's the point?"
For a second, the moment played all over again; the gunshot ringing within the apartment, the blood oozing out of my abdomen, his crooked smile on that bleached face of his. My heart raced as I saw this. "Because he's the Joker!" I replied instantly. I panted as I snapped back into the Batcave. Joker was nowhere in sight.
"A bit loud there," Batwoman replied.
Vibe knitted his eyebrows together above his goggles. "You okay, Batgirl?"
I nodded. "Ye..yeah. Just a bad thought." I sighed. "Continue."
"Well, Vibe, we don't know," Batwoman replied, "what we do know is that this thing is spreading like wildfire, and we need to figure out who did it. But for right now, we need to question Joker."
"And how are we gonna do that?" Vibe asked.
I turned to Vibe. "Follow me." With that, we walked past Batwoman in the center of the Batcave.
After a brief couple of moments, we arrived at Harley's cell. She was sitting on her bed, looking up at the cement ceiling. She twirled the pink end of her hair with her finger.
"You're kidding," Vibe said, "you guys got a hold of Harley Quinn?"
I nodded.
"How?"
"You could say it was me and Black Canary's luck," I answered, "with a little help from Supergirl."
Harley turned her head to look at us. Her eyes widened as she turned herself over and got up. She walked over toward the bars of her cell. "Who's this fine fella ya got fer me, B-Girl?"
Vibe's mouth opened slightly. "Uhh..." He gave her a small wave. "Hi?"
"This is Vibe," I said.
Harley waved back at Vibe with a wide grin on her face. "Hiya, Vibe Boy." A small giggle escaped her. "You with someone?"
"Uh..." Vibe replied, "...no...?"
She smiled at that. "Even betta!"
I sighed. "Harley, he is not your new boy-toy. Vibe's here to help us figure out who spread the illness."
She rolled her eyes as she held onto the bars. She scoffed. "Boring!" She looked back at me. "Ya just like B-Man, 'imself: all business and no fun."
I chuckled at that. "You really think I'm like Batman?" Another laugh escaped me. "Trust me, you should be happy I'm not Batman.
Harley turned back to Vibe. "Don't mind, B-Girl. I know how to have a good time."
"I...um...uh..." Vibe stammered.
"Oh, c'mon." Her smile only grew wider now. "Don'tcha wanna rev up a Harley, an' take 'er out fer a spin?"
"Okay Harley," I said, "you've crossed a line."
Suddenly, there was a woosh. I turned my head to see Supergirl. "What's up?"
"I need info on Stargirl," she answered.
"Stargirl?" I asked.
"Stargirl?" Harley asked. She started to laugh. "Seriously? She's as harmless as a firework!"
"Well, we also need firepower, too," Supergirl shot back.
I walked over to her. "Why do we need to contact Stargirl?" A sigh left my lips. "Courtney's still young," I whispered, "and a bit inexperienced."
"Green Lantern told me we'll need her."
"Jessica?"
Supergirl nodded. "You think you can get into the JLA's database for me?"
I nodded. "We can try." With that, the three of us left the cell.
"See ya around, Vibe Boy!" Harley called out.
Vibe groaned.
"Yeah," Supergirl replied, "I know."
We came back to the control center. I led us to one of the computers that wasn't being used by Batwoman. Within a few minutes, I was able to crack into Bruce/Batman's data and track down the JLA database.
"Found it."
Supergirl and Vibe came over and examined the screen.
Name: Courtney Whitmore
Sex: Female
Age: Fifteen
Race: Caucasian
Abilities: staff that shoots energy rays and allows user to fly, cosmic-converter belt that gives off enhanced agility, strength, stamina, speed, and durability
Supergirl shook her head. "Nothing about where I can find her."
I scrolled down a bit more. "Wait...I think I found it."
Last Known Location: Blue Valley, Nebraska
I turned around. "I guess you know where to..." Before I could even finish, she was gone. I sighed and shook my head.
"So, you're the new kid Batwoman told me about."
I turned my head to see Huntress at the entrance. She had her crossbow in her hand, but it was pointed at the ground.
"Oh my God," Vibe replied, his voice getting a tiny bit higher-pitched, "you're Huntress!"
She scoffed. "I know who I am, dipshit."
The smile instantly faded from Vibe's face.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"I came over to meet Vibe, of course," Huntress said, "plus, I heard about these superpowers he has. I want to see if it's true."
"Wouldn't Batwoman tell you if they were real or not?"
"Funny, Batgirl. But I have to see it to believe it." She aimed the crossbow at his chest. "Breach this."
My eyes widened. "Huntress, no!"
With that, she shot the arrow. A smirk stretched across her face.
Vibe put up his hand. A breach emitted from his palm right as the arrow flew at him.
I watched carefully as the arrow passed through the breach.
Suddenly, there was a blue glow coming from above. I looked up to see a breach forming between Huntress and I. Once it opened, the arrow shot down to the floor, the tip breaking off on impact.
I looked back up to see Huntress's dark brown eyes widen. Her jaw had dropped.
Vibe looked right at Huntress through the goggles. "Is that what you wanted to see?"
Huntress closed her mouth and looked back at him. "I see. I guess she's right about you."
"And what was that?" I asked.
Huntress turned around, as if to leave. "That he's useful." With that, she left the area.
Vibe looked to me. "Is she always like that?"
"She pulled a few things on Supergirl a few days ago," I replied, "a lot of us aren't happy about it."
"That, and if she's so stubborn to believe."
"We had to use the Lasso of Truth on Supergirl before we could test it on Harley just to persuade Huntress."
Vibe chuckled. "Damn."
I nodded.
He turned to me. "You know, I was always into superheroes."
I looked back at him. "Really?"
Another chuckle escaped him. "Yeah, like way before I became Vibe."
I smirked. "Was it like a fetish or something?" I laughed at this.
Vibe rose an eyebrow, but had a slight smile on his face. "Don't go all Harley on me."
"When you say you're 'into it."
He shook his head. "No, I mean, like I was interested in them. I've always been fascinated by them. They could do the impossible, things I never thought I could do."
I smiled. "Who inspired you once you got your powers?"
"All of you guys, really. If you mean which one was my favorite was, it has and probably always will be, the Flash."
I smiled. "The so-called 'fastest man alive'."
"Hey, can you run so fast that you can phase through buildings or run on water?
I sighed. "Okay, okay. He wins in that department."
His smile started to fade lightly. "But...he's been gone lately."
"Gone?"
"Well, he hasn't appeared in Central City from what I've heard." He paused for a second. A prominent frown emerged on his face. "You don't think he's sick, do you?"
I let the moment linger for a second. "I don't know, Vibe. I don't."
He looked down for a moment before looking back at me. "I can trust you, right?"
I nodded. "You can trust all of us here. Why do you--?"
He sighed as he took off his goggles, revealing his brown eyes. Vibe looked over at me. "If we're going to be working together, I feel that we should be able to trust each other in our secret identities, you know? Besides, you don't have to always call me 'Vibe'. When I'm not wearing the goggles, my name is Francisco Ramon, but you can call me Cisco."
I smiled lightly. "Nice to officially meet the man under the goggles, Cisco." I stuck out my hand and shook his hand.
"If it's okay, can I ask you yours?"
I rose an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"Because, I mean, if we're gonna be working together," he stuttered, "we should...you know...?"
"Know each other's secret identities?"
Cisco shrugged. "I'm still trying to get a hold of the superhero thing. I observed the superhero life so much as a civilian, I don't even know how to actually live that life."
I nodded. "I understand that feeling." I paused. "That being said, I'm not telling you my identity. At least, not right now." Suddenly, it hit me. "Go patrolling a few times with me, and once I know you better, I'll tell you, deal?"
Cisco nodded. "Deal."