Barbara Gordon snuck into her apartment late one evening after another night of patrolling the mean streets of Gotham as her crime-fighting alter ego Batgirl. She made sure no one had followed her, especially the police who had chased her after she had foiled a robbery attempt at the Gotham Bank. What irked her was how the cops seemed more interested in arresting her than they were the three would-be robbers she had tied up for them to take into custody. This was the direct result of the Anti-Vigilante Act voters in Gotham had passed the year before after Batman had been accused of a murder he did not commit. The criminal who had done the actual killing Batman's longtime nemesis The Joker had accused the Dark Knight of killing the man-who was a well-known gangster named Jack Napier-and soon public sentiment turned on the once-beloved caped crusader.
Both Barbara and her father retired police commissioner James Gordon tried to defend Batman and say it was The Joker deflecting blame for his heinous crimes the way he always did but no one cared to listen. What hurt Batman's case was that damn movie that came out just a few months prior that was wildly popular that blatantly painted Joker in a positive light and made him out to be some sort of victim. It falsely claimed his real father was Bruce Wayne's father Thomas Wayne after he had an affair with his mother and that the Waynes had coldly and cruelly rejected him and then later he was further victimized by Batman whom the movie painted as this out-of-control vigilante who had an unjust vendetta against the clownish criminal.
Barbara and her father protested the film when it came out. However, when she tried to remind everyone of all the horrible crimes The Joker had actually committed, including the time when he had shot and raped her in front of her father which left her briefly paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair, she herself got attacked by loyal Joker supporters many of whom said the cruelest things about her on social media and that she had even "deserved" what The Joker had done to her. Again, what irked her the most about this was that these were the same people who claimed to "believe women" when it came to sexual assault. And, like he had done so many times in the past, The Joker got off scot-free while Bruce Wayne ended up leaving Gotham in disgrace and taking Gotham's longtime protector and onetime hero with him.
Sometimes she really hated this city.
In spite of the passing of the Anti-Vigilante Act, Barbara decided to fill Bruce's and Batman's legendary shoes by returning once again to the streets of Gotham as Batgirl. She had taken a respite from crime-fighting to pursue other interests. She even left the country for a time to study abroad. She even traveled to Japan to hone her martial arts skills the way Bruce once did before he donned the cape and cowl. She returned to Gotham only to hear her father talk about retiring, which was something she thought he would never do, right before all the craziness with The Joker got started.
After James Gordon's retirement, Harvey Bullock became the new police commissioner much to Barbara's dismay. Barbara didn't much care for Harvey. She felt he was a prime example of the corruption her father vowed to root out of the Gotham PD. But here he was running the show.
Before her father's retirement, Dick Grayson became Gotham's new mayor. Along with Harvey, who was never a huge fan of Batman, Dick publicly supported the Anti-Vigilante Act. Which, of course, was highly ironic given that he was the original Robin. Barbara felt Dick betrayed Bruce for doing this. She felt this was one of the reasons why Bruce ultimately left Gotham and left Lucius Fox in charge of Wayne Enterprises at least until he came back to Gotham if he ever came back, that is.
Barbara was so lost in her thoughts she almost didn't detect the other presence in the room with her. Almost.
She threw a batarang in the direction of where the other person was standing where it hit into the wall just barely an inch from the intruder's face. The intruder, as she expected, didn't budge.
"Hello, Barbara," the person said. "Long time no see."
"What are you doing in my apartment, Dick?" she asked Grayson coldly. "Last time I checked breaking and entering was against the law. Or do you as mayor exempt yourself from the laws you pass on everyone else?"
"So says the vigilante."
"Tell me what you want, Dick," she said to her former crime-fighting partner-and former lover-impatiently, "or the next batarang is going right into your groin."
"Ouch!" Dick grinned at her, which only seemed to really annoy her. "Have a problem with men, do we, Barb?"
"I only have a problem with some men," she retorted. "And don't call me Barb. You know how I hate that."
"Fair enough."
"So you either tell me what the hell you're doing in my apartment or someone is going to get hurt and it's not going to be me."
"Honestly, Barb, uh, Barbara, I just wanted to see if you were okay, that's all."
Barbara gave him a derisive snort. "I find that hard to believe."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, seeing how you betrayed Bruce, for one thing."
"And how did I betray Bruce exactly?"
"Well, for starters, you publicly supporting that Anti-Vigilante Act."
"Oh that."
She gave him a hard look. "Yeah, that." She waited for a moment for Dick to give her an answer. When he didn't, she asked, "So why did you do it?"
Dick sighed before answering her. "I just felt it was time for Gotham to move past depending on costumed vigilantes to fight crime, especially since I feel we didn't really help stop crime in Gotham. In fact, in some ways, we made it worse."
"What are you talking about? We did a lot of good for this city."
Dick shrugged. "Oh, I admit we put out a few fires her and there. But, overall, the crime rate never really went down when Batman was around, did it? And, if we're to be totally honest, sometimes Batman created the very criminals he claimed to be fighting against."
"What, you mean criminals like The Joker?"
"I mean especially criminals like The Joker."
"You don't seriously believe that, do you?"
Dick shrugged again. "Let's face it, if Bruce hadn't interfered that night and caused him to fall into that vat of chemicals, then chances are The Joker would have been just another low-level thug who would probably be sitting inside a jail cell right now instead of being celebrated as some sort of folk hero in spite of all the harm he's done to the people of this city."
"You mean like what he did to people like me?"
"Yeah."
"You're not honestly blaming Bruce for what that clown did to me, are you? Because what happened to The Joker was an accident."
"No, I'm not blaming Bruce for what happened to you. And I know Bruce would have done everything he could have to have prevented it. But, accident or not, the fact remains if it wasn't for Batman there'd be no Joker. And do I have to remind you what happened to Harvey Dent?"
"No, you don't," Barbara replied softly. "But that was an accident too and you know it."
"Well, Batman tended to have a lot of these accidents that ended up creating way more problems for the citizens of Gotham. And even you can't deny that a lot of the crimes committed by these psychos like The Joker and Two-Face were them trying to one-up or get revenge on Batman in some way. And how many innocent people got hurt or even killed in the crossfire?"
"Again, you can't blame Bruce for all of this, Dick."
"Well, Bruce may not have pulled the trigger, but he damn sure helped load the gun. And that's why I supported the Anti-Vigilante Act. And you can hate me all you like for doing so, Barbara, but I stand by my decision."
This time it was Barbara who sighed. "I don't hate you, Dick. But I don't understand if you felt this way why did you stay by Bruce's side for so long? Even after you stopped being Robin after you and Bruce had that falling out, you became Nightwing for a time."
"I stayed by Bruce's side out of misguided loyalty, I guess. I truly believed at the time we were doing some real good. Besides, I was still just a kid when I started being Robin, which, in all honesty, Bruce kind of forced me into. Today I probably could've turned him in for child abuse." Dick gave an awkward chuckle while Barbara glared at him. "Frankly, I would have been better off being raised by Alfred, which, when you think about it, he pretty much did anyway Bruce was so busy running Wayne Enterprises and being damn Batman. The only time he really seemed to pay any attention to me was when he was training me as Robin. As for me being Nightwing, I admit I did it in part just to spite Bruce and show him I could be a better superhero than he was."
"Is that why you and Bruce had a falling out/"
"That and other reasons."
"Is that one of the reasons why you supported the Anti-Vigilante Act? To try and get back at Bruce for not paying attention to you as a kid?"
"I'll admit, that thought did cross my mind. But, like I told you, the main reason I supported that Act was because I truly feel it's what's best for Gothem."
"And do you think Harvey Bullock as police commissioner is what's best for Gotham too?"
Dick shrugged. "Harvey's not so bad."
"You sound just like my father."
"Harvey's actually a pretty good cop," Dick protested. "He's just a little rough around the edges, that's all."
"By rough around the edges you mean he's corrupt, right?"
"Harvey's actually not as bad as some of the other cops your dad helped to get rid of."
"But you do admit he's still corrupt?"
"I admit he's not as bad as he used to be. And he does have a strong desire to protect this city."
"Well, I don't share in your praise of the man. I remember all the stories dad used to tell me of all the corrupt stuff that man used to pull and how that sometimes made his job that much harder."
"But, regardless of all that, your father kept him on the police force anyway, didn't he?"
"Yeah, talk about misguided loyalty!"
Dick sighed. "The bottom line is, Bruce didn't have to be Batman just like you don't have to be Batgirl. And, while we're at it, if you get arrested I won't be able to help you."
"What's the matter, Robin?" Barbara said, sneering at him. "Are you worried I'll rat you out?"
"I know you better than that, Barbara," he replied, narrowing his eyes at her. "Besides, the Anti-Vigilante Act only applies to acts of vigilantism conducted after the passing of the Act, not before."
"What a nice little loophole for you, Dick."
Dick let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, Barbara, I didn't come here to argue with you."
"Then why did you come here, Dick?"
Dick let out a long and heavy sigh. "I just wanted to check and see you were okay, Barbara. Contrary to what you may think, I do still care about you. I always have and I always will."
"Thank you, Dick," she replied softly. "I really do appreciate that. But, really, I'm fine, so you don't have to worry about me, all right?"
"All right, Barbara," Dick replied, nodding. "But, before I leave, I just want to leave you with this one thought."
"And what would that be?"
"That there's more to life than risking your life night after night dressed up as a bat."
"Okay, Dick. You've made your point." There was an awkward silence between the two former partners and lovers. "Is that all you wished to say to me?"
"Yeah, that's pretty much all." Dick strode past Barbara to the front door of her apartment. Before he opened the door, he turned to Barbara one last time and said, "Will you promise me that you'll at least consider what I've said?"
"Yes, Dick," Barbara said, nodding her cowled head. "I promise."
"Okay, Barbara." He started to open the door. "Take care of yourself out there."
"You too."
Dick stepped out and closed the door behind him, leaving Barbara alone with her thoughts. She removed her cowl and contemplated what Dick had said to her. ln spite of what Dick had told her, she had no intention of stopping being Batgirl. It was what she felt compelled to do. In spite of the danger. In spite of what it cost her. She realized that one day she would have to retire the cape and cowl like Bruce did.
But not tonight.
And, if she ever came face-to-face with that psychotic clown again, she might just do to him what her former mentor-and lover-Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman had refused to do for so long, public sentiment and Anti-Vigilante Act be damned.