All characters appearing in the following narrative are fictional. Any resemblance to any real persons - either living or deceased - is entirely coincidental on the part of the Author. Unless otherwise noted all persons appearing in the narrative are written as being of the majority age of eighteen years owing to depictions of graphic sexual activity contained throughout the body of this work.
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The Car rolled to a halt and the flip of a switch the turbines powered down until the only thing disturbing the calm of the damp air was the rustling of the bats as they returned to their roosts for the day. Penguin had been stopped from bringing in and selling a shipment of automatic weapons - not that there was any evidence directly linking him to the gun smuggling operation - but Batman had busted his thugs before and knew one of his 'crews' when he came across them. He sat in the driver's seat of the 'Batmobile' and focused on relaxing for a few moments. Alfred would be waiting upstairs for him and he really needed a few hours of sleep before putting in a token appearance at Wayne Enterprises. The message from Lucius Fox had mentioned something about new developments in Applied Sciences. That could only mean some new tech to aide in the Batman's war on crime. . .
Barbara Gordon, college sophomore and daughter to the Gotham City Police Commissioner, had accomplished the impossible! Finishing the fall and winter terms with passing grades? Hardly. She had infiltrated Wayne Manor right under the nose of one Mr. Alfred Pennyworth. Knowing that Bruce was going to be arriving home soon she had chosen her time when she knew that the butler/confidante was going to be busiest. Avoiding Bruce's ever tightening security net had been the tricky part. However, using a few of the toys from her utility belt - to say nothing of some tricks she had learned in her computer sciences class - she had entered the mansion and even now was toweling off from the private shower in Bruce Wayne's bedroom. She was planning a surprise for Gotham's favorite billionaire/playboy/philanthropist. Reaching for her duffle bag even as she dropped her towel, Barbara made a beeline for the full-length mirror. . .
The ride up from the Cave in the elevator seemed to be taking forever. It had to be fatigue from the string of long days and even longer nights that he had been pulling lately. With both Barbara and Dick away at college he was running a little short handed in the sidekick department. On a few of his more recent cases he had even been tempted, even if only for a moment, to see if any members of the Justice League would be willing to help out. The only time that was going to actually happen though would be sometime close to Hell freezing over. Green Arrow - Oliver Queen - was about the only JLA member that he did not mind pairing up with. Probably because they were from similar backgrounds and neither one of them had 'powers' aside from bottomless bank accounts and a need to see justice done. The elevator finally slowed to a stop and the door concealed behind the grandfather clock opened to reveal Alfred waiting for him with a steaming tray of breakfast and a printed itinerary for his day.
"If the second item on that list is not sleep Alfred then we are going to have a talk about priorities." Bruce said as he leveled an accusing finger toward the butler's list even as he took the tray and sat down to begin eating.
"Then one can only assume that the shipment of arms belonging to one Mr. Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot will not be making an appearance on the streets of Gotham City," asked Alfred? Knowing full well that if even the slightest chance of those guns reaching the streets still existed that 'Bruce Wayne' would not have emerged from below and that the 'Batman' would have still been on duty.
Bruce only smiled around mouths full of Alfred's excellent cooking and moved down the list. Pleased to see that he was not expected at Wayne Enterprises until this afternoon. That meant that he had time for a shower AND some sleep. Bolting down what remained of the meal he asked Alfred to leave him until the last possible moment. With assurances for not being disturbed, Bruce pushed away the, now empty, tray and made a hasty exit toward his private suite of rooms. . .
The mirror did not lie. The lingerie looked stellar on her. A tight stretch of lace fabric, sheer to the point of not being there, formed the panel dipping between her shapely legs and then emerging to cover the nice rounds of her buttocks. The bra was a match and lifted her modest breasts into something that might be appealing to a man that normally filled his bed with super models and debutantes. Sure. Barbara knew it was all part of the 'act'. The one that deflected suspicion from Bruce Wayne ever being the Batman, but it had always made her feel somehow inadequate as a woman and she would have been lying to herself if she tried saying that she had not envisioned something like this happening since Batman and Robin had first accepted her and welcomed her into the 'family'. Of course Robin - Dick Grayson - had been making eyes at her since arriving on the campus of Gotham University earlier in the year. He was a year younger than she was but was already a sophomore owing to having done a year of private schooling abroad. Barbara thought it was 'cute' that he was crushing on her but she had only ever had eyes for the dark and brooding leader of their little crime fighting clan. Hearing footsteps she quickly ducked behind the ornate dressing screen and made herself as small as possible. . .
Steam was still curling off of his body as he dropped the towel on the bathroom floor and padded, bare foot and naked, into his bedroom and collapsed across the bottom of his bed. The door was locked and Alfred would never dare think of intruding on his privacy without at least knocking first. Sleep was just beginning to pull him under when he sensed weight on the bed and felt light hands begin massaging the knots out of his shoulders! His reaction was immediate as he rolled over and lashed out blindly with a kick that would have shattered masonry. The lithe form of his unlooked for companion was already rolling past the kick and came to a rest against his headboard.
"Shit Bruce," said Barbara Gordon. "Is this the way you greet all your would-be lovers?"
"Barbara? What are you doing here?" He asked as all thought of sleep vanished once his brain processed what his young partner was wearing. His physical reaction was almost immediate as he stiffened at the sight of her.