Let me lift from the ground like my soul is in flight
“I don’t want to insult you, O, but the fact that you’ve never seen Showgirls is an abomination. It’s an amazing, glorious piece of truly terrible cinema. It’s awesome. We’ll have to have a Batgirl movie night. Put that in the priority one file.”
Stephanie Brown is flying. The line is strong and steady in her hand, the night breeze cool against her cheeks. The city is quiet tonight, which suits her fine because she has a philosophy midterm that needs studying for. An early patrol tonight and then her and Immanuel Kant are going to be BFFs.
College is hard. Not the way that being Batgirl is hard, because it’s definitely easier to bluff your way through a Sociology lecture than it is a fight with Clayface, but it takes constant effort to maintain her B average. Combine freshman year with serious extracurricular activities and it makes for a Stephanie Brown that doesn’t always do the next day’s reading. Her advisor has been putting the pressure on her to declare a major soon, and that is a major life decision she is so not prepared to make.
Barbara Gordon’s voice is amused in her ear. “I didn’t realize we had a priority one file. I’ll put movie night on the calendar as soon as you deal with the apartment fire at E. 88th and Montrose.”
“Is there a reason I’m heading over there and not our esteemed fire department?” She’s only a few blocks down from Montrose. Steph lands lightly on the rooftop of the old Johnson print shop so she can change directions and head south. The neighborhood over by Aparo Park is struggling to survive but it’s never completely recovered from the quake. Many of the old residents never came back there and unsavory new types have moved in.
“They’re heading over but response time is 12 minutes. You can get there in 4.” There’s a gargoyle across the way that looks ripe for grappling. Steph shoots off a line and steps into the air.
She’s right at the crest of her arc when she shoots off her next line. Stephanie can see exactly where it needs to hit and her aim is good. She shoots off her line then blinks.
When she opens her eyes, Gotham is gone. In the space of a heartbeat, her line falls useless and Stephanie is falling.
“O? Oracle!” There’s silence in her ear and the sounds of the city are gone. The quality of light has changed. Steph pulls out her grappling gun and shoots up, aiming for something, anything that will stop her fall. The hook falls useless and still, she’s falling.
Well, shit. Brace for impact then. Toes slightly pointed, knees bent to absorb the impact, surely she wasn’t up high enough to die, right? Maybe just two broken legs and the good fortune to fight another day.
She lands. She...bounces…?
Instinctively, Stephanie tucks into a roll and is braced for the next bounce. Thank God for small favors and gigantic trampolines that apparently materialize out of thin air. She’s prepared for the next bounce and nails the landing then pops back up on her feet.
A twist of her wrist and her bo is in her hand. “Okay,” Steph says to this dark, starlit place that is definitely not E. 88th and Montrose. “Where am I and what have you done with Gotham City?”
[Find her atop the trampoline this evening or wandering through the Compound getting her sea legs.]
Stephanie Brown is flying. The line is strong and steady in her hand, the night breeze cool against her cheeks. The city is quiet tonight, which suits her fine because she has a philosophy midterm that needs studying for. An early patrol tonight and then her and Immanuel Kant are going to be BFFs.
College is hard. Not the way that being Batgirl is hard, because it’s definitely easier to bluff your way through a Sociology lecture than it is a fight with Clayface, but it takes constant effort to maintain her B average. Combine freshman year with serious extracurricular activities and it makes for a Stephanie Brown that doesn’t always do the next day’s reading. Her advisor has been putting the pressure on her to declare a major soon, and that is a major life decision she is so not prepared to make.
Barbara Gordon’s voice is amused in her ear. “I didn’t realize we had a priority one file. I’ll put movie night on the calendar as soon as you deal with the apartment fire at E. 88th and Montrose.”
“Is there a reason I’m heading over there and not our esteemed fire department?” She’s only a few blocks down from Montrose. Steph lands lightly on the rooftop of the old Johnson print shop so she can change directions and head south. The neighborhood over by Aparo Park is struggling to survive but it’s never completely recovered from the quake. Many of the old residents never came back there and unsavory new types have moved in.
“They’re heading over but response time is 12 minutes. You can get there in 4.” There’s a gargoyle across the way that looks ripe for grappling. Steph shoots off a line and steps into the air.
She’s right at the crest of her arc when she shoots off her next line. Stephanie can see exactly where it needs to hit and her aim is good. She shoots off her line then blinks.
When she opens her eyes, Gotham is gone. In the space of a heartbeat, her line falls useless and Stephanie is falling.
“O? Oracle!” There’s silence in her ear and the sounds of the city are gone. The quality of light has changed. Steph pulls out her grappling gun and shoots up, aiming for something, anything that will stop her fall. The hook falls useless and still, she’s falling.
Well, shit. Brace for impact then. Toes slightly pointed, knees bent to absorb the impact, surely she wasn’t up high enough to die, right? Maybe just two broken legs and the good fortune to fight another day.
She lands. She...bounces…?
Instinctively, Stephanie tucks into a roll and is braced for the next bounce. Thank God for small favors and gigantic trampolines that apparently materialize out of thin air. She’s prepared for the next bounce and nails the landing then pops back up on her feet.
A twist of her wrist and her bo is in her hand. “Okay,” Steph says to this dark, starlit place that is definitely not E. 88th and Montrose. “Where am I and what have you done with Gotham City?”
[Find her atop the trampoline this evening or wandering through the Compound getting her sea legs.]