"Wake up."
Tommy groaned and rolled over in his cot.
"Wake. Up."
Groaning again, Tommy pulled his pillow over his head.
"Wake up!"
Tommy groaned once more, this time in pain as he felt a sharp poke in his side. Tommy grumpily picked his head out from under his pillow and looked up at his attacker. When he saw who it was, his eyes went wide with more than a little fear.
"Wake up," Barbara Gordon repeated once more through gritted teeth. She was staring down at Tommy from her wheelchair.
"Shit," Tommy muttered. He hadn't had communication with Barbara in a week or so at this point, preferring instead to fight crime and get drunk (not necessarily in that order). He had gotten an angry e-mail the night before with the headline: "MAD HATTER FOUND, ANSWER ME." Tommy didn't know what the body of the e-mail said; he hadn't read it.
"I hope you can appreciate what me being here means," Barbara said lowly. "It's not like the Batcave is exactly handicap-accessible."
Tommy glanced around. He had never really thought about it but she was right. 'Well, it's not like a safety inspector is going to come around here,' He thought.
"Are you drunk, or still hung over?" Barbara asked disdainfully. Tommy looked up through bleary eyes.
"Little bit of both," He said after giving the question careful thought.
"Well, sober up," Barbara told him. "You've got work to do."
"Leave me alone," Tommy said, placing his head back under the pillow. A sharp jab once again found his ribs.
"Will you-" Tommy began.
"Shut up," Barbara told him. "I get that Black Canary dumped you. I get that you're sad about it. I get tha-"
"But you-" Tommy began.
"LET ME FINISH," Barbara said. Her tone silenced Tommy instantly. "I get that your personal life is not what you want it to be. But you are supposed to be Batman, and being Batman means that you don't let that shit affect your work. You need to quit this maudlin little routine you have going and get back to your job."
Tommy leaned up on his hand, reaching an even eye level with Barbara. "You wouldn't understand," He said. "You wouldn't know what it's like to lose..." Tommy trailed off when he realized what he was about to say.
'Maybe Barbara didn't catch that,' He thought.
Barbara's eyes went wide.
'...Shit.'
"I WOULDN'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE SOMETHING???" Barbara yelled. She struck out at the hand holding Tommy up, folding his elbow and sending his upper body hard into the cot below. As Tommy fell, Barbara twisted his right arm behind him. Tommy yelped as pain shot through his arm. "I lost my legs because of this, you little asshole! Don't tell me about losing something!"
Tommy squirmed, trying to get himself free. Barbara increased the pressure on his arm, causing Tommy to stay still. The pain was excruciating.
"Listen, you little prick," Barbara hissed from behind Tommy, "You're being a baby and Gotham is suffering because of it. Your work is sloppy, you're missing things, your updates have been terrible..."
"My what?" Tommy eked out.
"Your updates," Barbara said. "The after-action reports you're supposed to be writing. They're sloppy, riddled with errors and just sub-par. You should be embarrassed."
"But I-"
"I don't give a shit!" Barbara yelled. "So Dinah dumped you. I. Don't. Care. Lex Luthor is still out there, still planning something, and YOU need to stop him. Stop being a sadsack, stop with all your drinking, man up, and save Gotham."
Barbara let go of Tommy's arm. Tommy rolled himself over and rubbed his shoulder.
"You know, you're kind of mean," He said softly. Barbara wheeled away and headed towards the Batcomputer.
"Oh, shut up," Barbara said as she typed quickly on the keyboard. She brought up a profile of a purple-haired woman whose eyes were completely white.
"This is Tala," Barbara said. "Powerful sorceress and close associate of Lex Luthor. She's in Gotham for some unknown purpose. If anyone knows what Lex Luthor is going to be up to, it's going to be her."
"What do you want me to do about it?" Tommy asked. His right arm hurt like hell.
"Find her and interrogate her," Barbara said. "INTERROGATE her," She repeated. "Tala is one of the few people on Earth who knows Lex and also is powerful enough to potentially open up the Phantom Zone to free Faora. She must know what's going on. You need to get it out of her."
Tommy hopped off his cot and walked to the edge of the Batcave, looking down into the abyss below. "Fine," Tommy said softly. "What do I need to do?"
"Last we heard she was in a high-rise downtown. Has the whole floor to herself. Nice place."
"I'll try to find out how much she's paying for it for you," Tommy said dryly.
Barbara actually smiled. "I guess you're not so sad you can't be an asshole," She told Tommy.
"My arm hurts," He replied.
"Get suited up," Barbara said. "Fighting crime will make you feel better."
Tommy grumbled and began putting on his suit. As he did so, he continued complaining. "How exactly am I supposed to stop this Tala lady, anyway? I don't know if batarangs work against magic."
"You stopped Circe," Barbara reminded Tommy. "She's magic but she's not invincible."