BARBARA GORDON / BATGIRL

the cutest bat

"And here I thought people were tense in Gotham." They were. Tense, psychotic, deranged. You could pretty much pick an adjective at this point. Leaning against the bar, Barbara waited patiently for Constantine to finish off the drink. She knew better than to drink on the job. Being part of the Batfamily had coded certain standards into her that were unshakable at this point. "Hello to you too, Constantine. Long day?"

"We both know that's a lie. I let you see me." Maybe Barbara was a little rusty. Who wouldn't be after what she went through? That didn't mean she wasn't in top form. If it had been anyone but Bruce, they wouldn't have spotted her. Stepping into the small pool of light, the younger bat scanned the alley once before focusing on her ( sort of ) mentor. "I didn't think you were patrolling over here tonight."

"I mean, my entire thing was knowing everything and everyone for a few years there. I'm going to put my money on me and not you. No offense, of course."

Raven had finally found a moment to clear her head. Choosing a quiet spot on the floor in the tower, she sat with her eyes closed and her legs criss-crossed. she was was drifting in the blissful quiet of her meditation, floating a few inches off the ground when she heard a noise--maybe it was a crunch of a wrapper or a pop of a plastic bottle. Raven cracked one eye at her company. "Got enough to share?"

Barbara's presence in the Tower — though rare — wasn't entirely unfamiliar. She didn't get to Jump City to visit Dick often enough, but there had been a gap in her schedule and Steph had promised to hold the fort down in Gotham for a few days. Barbara's trip to the kitchen had been prompted by the gurgling of her stomach. She had barely opened up the protein bar when she heard the voice, and the redhead paused to find the source of the voice. "If you like No Cow bars, be my guest." They had to be from Dick's stash. They were plain and tasted a little like chalk, the supposed blueberry cobbler flavor thick in her throat.

"hey, you haven't by any chance seen a fluffy white dog anywhere, have you?" because why wouldn't he have to chase down the worlds most powerful dog while also trying to keep metropolis from being trampled by a giant kaiju? must be tuesday.

"—Is that what did this to you?" If a dog could take down Superman, a human with above average gymnastic skills like Barbara was mostly definitely screwed. "My scanner was reporting a very tall monster. No mention of fur or a collar."

"we should probably head back before it gets any later. I don't mind, I'm just saying the statistical chances of me shooting somebody increases with every passing minute." this was gotham and not that any of the local criminals needed encouragement from the sun going down to try their hand at armed robbery, it certainly made them feel invited.

"It's been a while since we've done this, hasn't it?"

"Of course, Mr. Wayne." Bruce Wayne: handsome, billionaire, playboy. Barbara Gordon: the commissioner's daughter. They both had their masks on tonight. "Although, I have to admit, it feels like there's been little time for pleasure lately. I know my father has been incredibly busy, and — well, there I go talking about work again. It's hard to focus on things other than work, isn't it?"

"You need to water your pothos--I don't even need to be me to hear her screaming on her little shelf over there. you know the drooping is a cry for help, right?"

"Look, I'm not going to lie and say that isn't helpful... but is this we're supposed to be doing right now?"

"Of course I have. This isn't amateur hour." Fingers flew across the keyboard as Barbara pulled up the footage she had isolated earlier. She was more chair-bound today, the implant and her spine an aching reminder of all that had happened. "He was in the Bowery, which is honestly not unusual. Not sure why he'd be at Gate Street in Chinatown, though. Any guesses?"

Art by Rafael Albuquerque

Barbara Gordon in Birds of Prey #020 (2025)

ELLA PURNELL Interview Magazine | April 2024