*This story is the second of the Batgirl series, and is set a few days after the first. Please read the first installment for context. This series takes place shortly after A Matter of Family (before Arkham Asylum), using the same characters and plot-line as the series, up until the start of the story obviously. I tried to keep the characters' physical aspects and personalities as close to their video game versions as possible. Please note that this is purely a work of fantasy/parody. All characters and settings are property of DC Comics.*
*Author's Note: I apologize for how late this second installment is. I got side-tracked with a few other works that took a long time to write and had this on the backburner for a while. But I finally finished it up. Part 3 will be coming soon.*
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"With their 4-2 loss to the Wranglers tonight, the Riders are bumped out of the playoff picture with only a few more games remaining to make up the difference," the radio blared out to whomever was listening.
"Ah, fuck! I had 250 on a win and 250 that they would score at least 3. Jesus Christ, that team's a fuckin disgrace to the town. Can't wait till football season starts back up again," Tyson Briggs announced as he turned his beat-up 1980's sedan up another flight of the multi-level parking garage.
"Calm the fuck down, man. They still might make the playoffs," his companion reassured him.
"Playoffs? Playoffs? Do you think I actually give a fuck about the playoffs? I just lost 500 bucks tonight!" Briggs shot back. He turned the car up the final ramp and drove onto the exposed roof of the garage.
"Well, maybe you need to make smarter bets," the other man in the car muttered in response.
Tyson slammed on the brakes, causing both men to lurch forward slightly.
"The fuck did you just say to me?"
"Nothin man. Just a joke, that's all it was."
"Really? Sure didn't fucking sound like it to me!" Briggs said, his voice starting to become more and more angry.
"Come on, man. Calm down. You got a fucking job to do here!"
"Don't tell me when to fucking calm down!" Briggs angrily responded as he cocked his fist back to throw a punch.
Both men were interrupted from their fight as a small explosion hit the car. It was directed at the driver's side of the car, and the sedan was rocketed into a flip. The car came crashing down on top of another car, with both men being thrown down onto the inner roof of the car, which remained upside down. Car alarms blared into the night.
"Wha da fuck?" Briggs groggily croaked out. He looked over and saw his friend lying unconscious. Small shards of glass pricked Briggs all over, and he felt distinct pains from multiple larger gashes.
With a loud thud, something landed on the underside of the car, which was now facing up. A hand shot out through the previously-smashed window and grabbed Briggs's collar.
In one motion, he was flung out of the car and over the nearby edge of the roof.
He screamed as he plummeted towards the ground, fearing the end was truly near. But about 20 feet above the ground, he noticed his descent had slowly stopped and now had come to an end.
Blood rushed to his head as Briggs was painstakingly lifted back upwards. He looked up and saw the wire attached to his leg, and immediately knew the culprit.
He was finally dragged almost all the way back up to the top of the garage, where his assailant left him dangling by the wire a few feet from the edge, his position still very much precarious.
"Talk." The one-word command was sufficient and effective.
"Old Botanical Gardens. The part that was closed off cause of the attack a while ago."
"Thanks."
The figure pulled Tyson all the way back onto the roof, letting him catch his breath and feel the blood rush away from his head.
"We were supposed to meet. Why would you go through the theatricality of all this?" he asked between pants.
The figure stepped to the edge of the roof and looked over it. Tyson now started to hear police sirens in the distance.
"Call it a reminder to wear your seatbelt. But that's not the only thing you'll be locked away for," Batgirl said, turning her head back towards the thug with a smile.
"No, wait, we had a fucking agreement!"
His pleas fell on deaf ears. Batgirl slipped off the rooftop, her cape flowing behind her. Tyson ran back over to the edge of the garage. He looked down and saw nothing.
"Goddamn it!" he shouted aloud before kicking the hubcap of a nearby car.
"Ah, fucking hell!" he screamed on account of the stubbed toe. He sat down on the pavement and waited for the police to descend upon him.
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Barbara grappled and glided across Gotham. She came to a stop on a tall building overlooking the old botanical garden building. It was an imposing sight. In the middle of a large park, the building was made of almost entirely glass panels, with very Gothic supports.
With the flick of a switch, Barbara used her cowl to zoom in on the building. She scanned the site, identifying the location of the gaping hole on one side of the building. It was the result of an attack by Poison Ivy a few months earlier, which had put her on Batman's radius in the first place.
Barbara turned on her detective vision and vaguely saw the blue outline of Poison Ivy in the building. With the necessary information gathered, Barbara stood up on the rooftop and quietly jumped off.
The light breeze of the spring felt much stronger as Barbara cut through the night air, gliding down towards the dilapidated building. She knew exactly where she needed to be and with extreme precision, cut short her flight.
With a crash, Barbara dropped down through one of the numerous window panes. The suit cushioned the shock as her feet slammed down onto the tile floor far below. Small shards of glass continued to rain down, creating a reflective aura around her.
The red-headed villainess spun around and wordlessly eyed the intruder.
"You could have just come in the front door, you know. It was open," Ivy casually remarked.
Barbara slowly started walking towards her counterpart.
"I take it that you got my message. I hope you didn't mess up the poor boy too bad," Ivy continued.
"Why did you want to talk? There's nothing more to discuss beyond you going back to Arkham for a long, long time," Barbara coolly responded.
"Arkham?" Ivy asked with an air of incredulity. "My god, how naive you heroes are. How did the last time you tried apprehending me go? I seem to remember it involving you naked, lying on the floor in a pool of cum."
Barbara's jaw hardened. Her glare could have cut diamonds.
"And then of course it took me all of 4 hours to escape from the cops when they captured me. You'd think after all this time you would realize that it's a bad idea to let the police handle detainment of us so-called 'super villains.' It's almost getting too easy at this point."
Barbara discreetly grabbed a Batarang behind her back as Poison Ivy was talking.
"Oh, and before you get any ideas, I've got hostages. I wouldn't suggest trying anything funny if you value their lives."
Barbara became slightly deflated. She slowly placed the Batarang back onto her belt. She had scanned the building earlier and hadn't found anyone but Ivy. Hostages complicated things.
"Okay, Pamela. I'll play into your little game. Why did you call me here?" Batgirl calmly asked.
"Uh, to fuck you, of course. I figured that would be painfully obvious."
"And just how do you plan on accomplishing that?"
"I already told you that I had hostages. Not in this building obviously, but placed in a few secure locations around the city."
Barbara gritted her teeth. "Aaand?"
"Well, if you don't comply with what I want you to do, they die. Relatively simple."
Barbara's mind raced. She discreetly sent a message to the Batcave informing Alfred of the hostages. "Hopefully they'll be able to locate them and save them quickly," she thought. But she still needed a diversion in the moment to prevent Ivy from killing them now. For that, Barbara was coming up empty.
Barbara began pacing at an angle, such that she was circling around Ivy, as if the redheaded seductress were her prey, and not the other way around.
"I know you're just trying to delay. The situation is unavoidable, Batgirl," Ivy said, tracking Barbara with her eyes the entire time.
Barbara heard a footstep from behind her. She immediately spun around and cocked her first back, preparing to throw a punch.
Before Barbara could throw her punch, a plant tendril shot out and wrapped itself around her wrist, preventing her from attacking.
"Uh-uh. You wouldn't want those poor, innocent hostages to die, now would you?" Ivy asked in a disingenuously sympathetic voice.
Barbara lessened her strain against the vine, and Ivy allowed it to fall away. Barbara looked up, surveying her other assailant.
It was a man, who appeared to be in his late 30s. Barbara recognized his uniform immediately as one of a police officer. He must have been the security officer left to guard the site.
There was something off about him though. Barbara scanned his body and noticed that his eyes appeared to be completely glazed over. Barbara figured that Ivy must have already poisoned him. He was now under the villainess' control.
"I wonder if that's what I looked like," Barbara thought to herself, recalling her last experience with Poison Ivy, before dashing the thoughts from her head.
"As you can see, this little piggy is now enslaved to me, to do my bidding," Ivy explained.
"And why does this matter?" Barbara retorted.
"He has no care for himself; he now only exists to serve me. If you try anything, he will stop you with no regard for his own body or health. Like an obedient robot. He's also good for... other things."
Ivy said the last sentence in a slower, more sultry tone.