Barbara Interlude
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INTERLUDE
(Barbara’s Perspective (Chapter 1 timeline) {16/10/2014})
The door into Gotham’s central library jingled as it was pushed open. The resounding chime of the entry’s bell caught Barbara Gordon’s attention for a moment, causing her to glance up from her computer at the reception desk.
Her eyes widened momentarily as she took in the person who’d entered. ‘Damn that kid’s been roughed up.’
Barbara speculated this, even in the library’s poor lighting she looked at and could see a lot of the dirtied teen who’d walked in the door. He was covered in scuff and scratch marks and was walking with a slight limp.
The boy looked up at the tall ceilings of the library, tilting his head back so she could see the whites of his eyes. She lifted a hand, readjusting her glasses to scan the boy over.
His eyes quickly snapped back down at the movement and over toward her direction.
He started to walk over to her. His clothes were as totalled as the rest of him, older looking clothes, blemished, stained and rundown with repetitive scuffles and damages taken to them.
His shirt had more holes than fabric around its seams. The boy had wandered his way up in front of her spot at the library’s reception.
“Hello u–uh…” He stuttered for a moment, wringing his hands together as he glanced over the desk and spotted her nametag, “Miss Barbara? Just wondering if there is free computer usage in this place?”
She nodded back at him, pointing toward a section of the library. “Yes there is. They’re over on the left there.”
The boy’s face lit up and he smiled kindly at her, eyes glinting with appreciation. “Thank-you!!” He jogged over and around the corner in the direction she’d sent him. Barbara shot a curious look at his retreating back.
The boy's gratitude lingered in Barbara’s mind long after he turned the corner. Most Gothamites didn’t bother with niceties–especially not with her.
But this kid? He was different. Too polite, too wide-eyed, like he didn’t yet know what it meant to survive in this city.
Barbara usually wouldn’t dive too deep into what others were doing but this peculiar teenager piqued her curiosity. ‘Peter huh.’ she reiterated, noting his name when he signed himself into the computer.
She pulled up a new tab, quickly syncing her laptop with the boys and began supervising his searches. ‘Who are these people?’ she thought, eyes scanning the list of unfamiliar names.
Barbara furrowed her eyebrows at all of these strange names that just don’t exist. They all ran no results, probably fuelling the boy to start off a bit more basic as she watched him google a very broad ‘superheroes.’
She tilted her head back and took a swig of coffee whilst she watched him browse through the top few results. He’s scrolled to the point he pressed on the ‘Bats and Birds’ recommended option.
Peter looked through quite a few articles on her fellow vigilantes. His interest must have been piqued as he was quick to open another tab and research ‘gotham crime and villains.’
‘Well that’ll be fun for him if I’m right and he’s not from here.’ She derived similar things along the lines of so, contemplating where the boy actually is from thanks to his cluelessness and differing accent. To her relief he was actually looking into things beneficial to him in the now.
He closed all his tabs and logged off after a final quick search of ‘homeless shelter near me.’ A minute or two after Barbara had closed her spectating of the boy’s presence online, she was looking into some work related things.
Recently some shady things have been going down along Gotham’s docks along Miller’s Harbour. ‘Well, more shady than normal.’
She was cut off from delving further into the reports by the footsteps of the strange teenager walking back into the library's foyer. He sauntered over toward the door, eyes glinting when he caught sight of her and his face stretched into a small smile.
He waved at her and walked down the entry's stairs, back into the unforgiving streets of Gotham. Barbara watched the boy disappear down the library steps, her hand still hovering in a half-wave back at the boy. Something about him lingered in her mind.
Maybe it was the way he’d asked about the computers–polite, almost sheepish. People in Gotham didn’t do that, not anymore.
Then there was the way he looked–lean and wiry, with messy brown hair and those startlingly earnest eyes. A pang of recognition rippled through her chest, unbidden. He looked familiar to her in some way. As if she already knew his face.
He looked like him. He looked like Dick.
Barbara shook her head, trying to dismiss the thought. It was absurd. The boy clearly was new to Gotham, it was her first time ever seeing him, probably the last.
But the resemblance was uncanny–enough to unsettle her. Enough to make her take note.
As she looked back down at her laptop, her fingers hovered over the keyboard. A part of her wanted to let it go. The kid was probably just another lost soul in Gotham, another face swallowed up by the city. But another part of her–—a louder, sharper part–—knew better.
Barbara tapped a few keys, pulling up the library’s internal surveillance feed. The boy’s image appeared on the screen, grainy but clear enough. She zoomed in, studying the features that felt so familiar: the sharp cheekbones, the determined set of his jaw, and those tired, wary eyes.
She sighed, pressing her commlink. “Oracle to Bat Team,” she said, her voice calm.
Static crackled in her ear before Steph’s voice broke through, “What’s up, O? Another bank robbery breaking out?”
“Not quite,” Barbara replied, she was moments away from forwarding the footage to the team’s shared channel when the boy’s eyes caught hers. The library's footage was grainy and poor, but there was no mistaking the unearthly amber glow to his eyes.
Barbara closed the pending message and backtracked her planned topic, “Ah–any updates on the Cape Carmine incidents?”
“Yeah,” Red Robin muttered. “Still no sign of Scarecrow, but the gas dispersal device found? Definitely his work. We’ve got analysts working on the chemical compound now.”
Barbara frowned. Cape Carmine had been a disaster–—a full-blown panic triggered by fear has spread through one of Gotham’s busiest intersections and populated harbour. Dozens of civilians had been hospitalized, and the perpetrator, Scarecrow, had disappeared without a trace. “And the victim Red Robin pulled from the scene?” Barbara asked.
“Stable,” he replied. “But they haven’t said much. Too traumatized. We’re hoping they’ll come around soon.”
Barbara nodded, humming in acknowledgment. Though the unease in her chest didn’t face. Cape Carmine wasn’t just another scarecrow attack; it was something bigger. His MO had shifted: larger targets, broader reach. The fact that he’d managed to disappear without leaving behind his usual breadcrumbs was troubling.
Her eyes drifted back to the image of the boy on her screen. What was he doing here, in Gotham of all places? And why now, in the middle of all this chaos? She sighed and turned her mic off. She began typing and clicking her mouse about as she delved further into the recent fear gas incident.
Still, as she closed the surveillance feed, she couldn't help but glance at the boy’s image. Something told her that he was not just another face in the crowd to ignore.
***
(Barbara’s Perspective {17/10/2014})
The same kid from the day before entered the library a second time. As much as Barbara wanted to keep herself from snooping, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to delve further into the existence of Peter: Dick’s lookalike who’d come back to the same library for a second time.
She was quick to begin recording the library’s internal surveillance and opening it on her laptop to follow his moves in the building. Peter was heading right back to the computer cubby-hole section of the library.
On the way to the computers, he made a quick pit stop for the kids' complementary art supplies that were strewn about in the kids section.
Barbara watched him grab a handful of half scribbled on paper and some writing utensils. She kept on working for both the library and Oracle work on her own computer. Although making sure to continue tracking Peter for any noteworthy behaviour or actions online.
She took notice of his searches throughout his second stop at the library. They consisted of: :: Mutants/Meta’s, the laws behind regulating them in Gotham. :: ‘He’s probably learnt about our marvellous variety of mutated rogues.’ As well as the :: general history of Gotham's very own vigilantes and villains. ::
Roughly 3 hours later, Barbara had managed to get some more info about the Cape Carmine’s recent incident from the analysts Tim had got on the job previously. Barbara had to leave early and close up the library with her in order to talk about forensics from a more secure location.
An announcement later the majority of all the people in the building had filtered out. Except one, Peter. He was still sitting in his chair in front of one of the library's computers. She pushed herself further into the part of the library he was in. “Hey kid, you there?”
The kid, face hidden by the chunky computer in front of him, tilted his head at her voice and peeked his head around the device, “Yeah?”
“I’m going on my lunch break and an early leave today.” She informed Peter. “Sorry to ask you this but you’ll have to leave.”
The teenager stumbled over his things, having perked up and scrambled to get his things so as to not become a burden. “Oh! Um-don’t worry. That’s fine, I was just finishing up.”
Barbara nodded, “Alright then, see you around..?” she remarked, the sentence lingering in a questioning silence.
They both kept silent for a moment when the boy spoke up again, “It’s Peter.”
“Goodybye Peter.” Barbara finished, mentally noting his practice with the name and erasing any doubt she had about the teens name versus online.
He stood up and started to head for the library's entrance, quickly calling out one final thing at her as he slipped out the door.
“Have a good day!”