veratridine​:

[♞] There were some unsettling rumors going around Gotham and Blüdhaven, clown related shenanigans. And when it came to clowns, he had ZERO tolerance. Chances were high it was a copy-cat, or someone thinking he could become the prince of crime in a matter of minutes if they used a big name, after all, the real deal was dead, cremated. A too easy way out of this life for a scum like that. And he’d been robbed of his revenge. But either way, he was at peace now… in a way. But since he’d heard the rumors of this new threat, Jason had been trying his best to track it down. This was Gotham after all, there’s still this small hope inside him that maybe he’ll get his revenge after all. But no luck in finding out, well, anything. It was time to step on his pride and call the cavalry. Thus his presence in this apartment. He’d heard that Barbara had a run-in with his old friend as well. And she hadn’t been as lucky as him to escape unscathed, but seeing her made his heart stop. He knew her as this beautiful woman, light on her feet, kicking ass as Batgirl. Hell, the first time he saw he could have sworn he’d had a crush on her. A childish crush, but a crush nonetheless. This was heartbreaking. But they were both fighters, he knew as much, and she wouldn’t let anything bring her down. So of course she knew he was there. And who he was. But he’d rather not remove the helmet for now, instead he moved into the light so that he’s more than just a silhouette now. “Now that’s the Barbara I know. What gave me away? Was it the crappy cologne?“ She’s right to suppose he’d come here for a reason, but now he almost wished this was just a courtesy call, after all, they had some certain things in common. “You know me so well. I need your help.” It’s all he says for now. He’d first check to see her reaction to his request before throwing the slight possibility at her. He’s learned to be cautious lately.

     It was good that he didn’t take off his helmet and let her read the thoughts he was having-- she wouldn’t have appreciated pity or reminiscing of her time as Batgirl at all-- not when she knew she was teetering on the edge of obsessiveness with the cause of her permanent affliction. Even though Jason too was a victim, they were very different victims and she did not feel ready to neither share her trauma with Jason, nor offer to take his load. It’s selfish, she knows, especially when as Batgirl, she’d been a role model for the Robins, coaching them and keeping them in line-- and keeping young boys like Dick and Jason in line was certainly a feat, even if that line was very very broad. 

     “I can’t say” she smiles, although she wouldn’t exactly call the cologne crappy. “I’ve got to keep the upper hand whenever I can” and isn’t that all she’s got left now to keep herself safe and sound in this dangerous game. Secrets. She has a hunch about what he needs help in and she is already thinking about how to stall him for the moment-- until she has her own bearings done. Truth be told, the case had been a curve-ball for her too-- she’d started having trouble sleeping, focused on obsessively gathering information and creating links and figuring out what she could high up in her tower. She should have accounted for Jason to show up too-- but she hadn’t, which just proved how badly this new copy-cat had affected her. “I’ll hear your request out” she says lightly, while leaning over to press a button and causing the monitors to flicker on and start displaying data. “It must be quite serious for you to need help with it. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place”

Barbara in Nightwing #57

Barbara Gordon in Gotham City Garage #5

     Her senses may have dulled, but they had not dulled enough to mask the presence of the intruder. Still, she continues to wheel into the room and set the chair in front of her work station as Oracle, setting the sandwich and coffee she’d made as a midnight snack onto the table before reaching down to click a button and boot up the computer. Routine back-ups and updates were mandatory and today was the day Barbara had decided to get everything done in one go. 

     “So how long do you plan on keeping yourself hidden, Jason?” she asks as the computer hums back to life, flooding the dark room with it’s light. Bruce thought he could get away with his ‘ Babs-cam ‘ and while she could understand he was just worried for her, it still didn’t make the feeling of being watched any less irksome. “I’ll assume you came here for something-- you don’t have to be so secretive about it”-- you know I’d help you, even if you’re not Robin or Jason Todd anymore.

     She sighs before switching the monitor off for the moment as the system resumed it’s updates and turning towards him. To be honest, she’s grateful the computer is still somewhat out of commission. She didn’t want Jason to see any evidence of her almost obsessive and constant watch on the Joker-- between the two of them, someone had to be reasonable and for now, that would have to be Barbara.

----- @veratridine​ ||

     Dick Grayson was undoubtedly still a very important part of her life-- even if she couldn’t be and didn’t plan to be Batgirl again. He might still be the smug Boy Wonder still, under his Nightwing suit, but he had grown to be a better person and she believed he could be better still. Despite his shortcomings-- he was human after all, and they all failed, on occasion, a testament to being flawed and imperfect-- he still managed to teach her a lot that she didn’t even realize she needed. 

     Case in point being the time he had managed to coax her into visiting Haley’s Circus. 

     She knew-- and still vividly remembers-- how she had clearly told him that they were not going to continue setting up meetings and ‘dates’ like this, in an effort to curb any potential courtship it could evolve into. No, they didn’t deserve to do that to each other, and even if the Boy Wonder wondered, it was her job to be the responsible one and do the thinking and future planning when he couldn’t. Still...

     “You know, I was thinking” she says, as he swoops into the open window of her apartment, to inevitably crash into the sofa that now seemed to be his designated place in her home, “that it’s been a while since we-- I-- have visited Haley’s”. 

     He had convinced her to get up onto the trapeze and that experience had transformed her. No longer was she a seemingly helpless damsel in her wheelchair, but someone capable of summoning physical strength and prowess with the parts of her body she still had control on. Oh, and not to mention-- she missed the feeling of flying through the air, as Batgirl. With Dick by her side, the trapeze was clearly the next safest way of revisiting that feeling. 

     “What do you say? Got time in your busy schedule of crime fighting for an old friend like me?”

-----> @brucene​ ||

barbara gordon ( batgirl ) icons; like or reblog if you use.

Some of Oracle’s most iconic panels:

Convergence Nightwing/Oracle issue 2

Red Robin issue 12

Birds of Prey (1999) issue 124

Injustice Gods Among Us year two issue 2

Birds of Prey (1999) issue 8

Birds of Prey (1999) Issue #8