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Infinite DC - Birds of Prey: Dark	By : Xygrej Category: DC Verse Comics > Birds Of Prey Views: 5629 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Birds of Prey, nor any of the characters from it. Birds of Prey and all related characters belong to DC Comics as do all characters included in this story. I do not own any of them, nor do I profit from this story in any way.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Hel groaned as she got back to her feet in the debris of the crate she crashed through, glad her suit was thick enough to absorb damage like that. Unfortunately, she knew it couldn't take a bite from Lion-Mane, which meant she had to dodge fast as he lunged at her, managing to chomp a hunk out of her cape. She tucked and rolled across the floor, coming to a stop in front of the door leading further into the museum, then ducked as Lion-Mane leaped at her, sending him crashing through the door and into a clay vase.
"Oh, crap!" Huntress cursed. "Oh, I hope that wasn't expensive!"
The Violet Archer found herself having to dodge wildly again as Lion-Mane's wives/henchwomen, Ngai, Qandisa, and Shango, came running at her, cloaks discarded and swiping at her with golden clawed gauntlets. Taking the fight out into the much larger lobby outside of the loading dock, giving her more room to weave around her attackers, Huntress finally decided to spring up onto a staircase leading to the upper level of the lobby. She landed on the halfway point of the stairs, giving herself a moment's breather, only now noticing the cut across her arm.
"Damn, can't take them alone," Helena muttered, just before Qandisa leaped up and threw a foot in her face, knocking her back and sending her crossbow tumbling down the stairs.
Huntress gave her head a shake, refocusing as Ngai flipped over her fellow bride and brought a pair of claws straight down toward the Violet Archer's face. With a grunt, Hel just managed to catch her attacker's forearms as she was backed against a banister to the staircase. In her stunned state, though, she knew she couldn't hold out long, meaning she had to go for something a bit less conventional. Kicking her legs up, she wrapped them around Ngai's hips, then slid herself downward, sending the warrior bride's face into the banister hard. Releasing her grip around Ngai's hips, she then wrapped both arms around her waist, and, with as much strength as she could manage, shoved her into Qandisa, sending both crashing into Shango as she was on her way.
Just as Helena was feeling good about herself, though, she soon found herself the target of a leaping, angry-looking Lion-Mane. Instinctively, she rolled to her left, but Lion-Mane's massive arm managed to swat her, sending her down the stairs. Huntress cried out as she came to a stop, her leg in agony. Seeing Lion-Mane turn to her, looking hungrily at her fallen form, she reached out to her fallen crossbow, arming it with an arrow, only to find it knocked away as Lion-Mane pinned her down with all four of his lion legs.
"I'm going to enjoy devouring you, chienne!" Lion-Mane growled, saliva dripping down onto Huntress, who just stared into his eyes defiantly.
"Go hack up a hairball...!" Helena muttered before spitting in the were-lion's face.
Lion-Mane roared in anger, raising a massive fist to bring straight down through Huntress' skull. It never came, though, as a claw-like device flew in, clenching onto his arm before shooting out a line to a stone pillar. It then yanked on him hard, sending him crashing into the pillar. Hel sighed in relief, a red and black figure landing beside her.
"Getting a little tired of saving your ass, Huntress," Batwoman declared.
"I'd tell you to bite me, but I don't know what kind of bat you are," Huntress shot back, feeling the familiar sensation of her wounds healing, meaning the Dark Knightess wasn't the only one to respond.
"You're very lucky," Raven said, finishing the process. "You must not have been all that far up the stairs, or these wounds would be FAR worse, and there's only so much I'm capable of healing before it becomes permanent damage."
Huntress nodded, getting up and facing Raven and Black Canary. "Okay, so note to self: Don't fall down any more stairs."
The four formed up, as did Lion-Mane and his wives. The were-lion wiped his face with his forearm, growling at the blood that came from his nose. Within moments, the combatants found themselves paired off: Shango with Black Canary, Lion-Mane with Raven, Qandisa against Huntress, Ngai with Batwoman. Black Canary pulled her sansetsukon from her jacket, clutching it in her hands tightly as both sides waited for the other to make the first move.
"Let's try not to break anything valuable," the second-generation heroine said, glancing to her allies.
"I think I already broke Lion-Mane's nose," Batwoman noted. "Does that count as valuable?"
Enraged, Lion-Mane roared loudly, echoing throughout the museum. He and his wives charged their opponents, the Birds of Prey ready for the fight. Raven levitated herself off the ground, avoiding the were-lion's wild slashes. He growled louder with each miss, eventually leaping up at Rachel for a fierce mid-air tackle. She created a black barrier to block Lion-Mane's attack, and while it worked, the shock was still enough to knock her back a bit. Looking around, Rachel spotted an open crate, hoping it was thick enough for her needs.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven chanted, lifting the crate up and hurling it at Lion-Mane, shutting it with him inside.
Back on the floor, Black Canary flipped backward, avoiding an attack from Shango as she drew a scimitar from a scabbard on her back. Landing next to a table covered in artefacts, Dinah lifted one particularly valuable one off the table before ducking a downward slash from her opponent, her blade sticking into the thick table. Dinah then grabbed Shango by the hair, slamming the woman's face into the rather hard-looking hilt of the scimitar, sending her crumbling to the floor. Black Canary smirked, placing the artefact back on the table next to the scimitar.
"Hmm, I wonder if they'd be willing to accept this sword into the museum," Dinah wondered aloud. "Would save the trouble of trying to pry it loose."
At the same time, on the other side of the room, Huntress backed against a stone pillar, Qandisa rushing her with a pair of short swords. Thinking quickly, Hel pulled a pair of arrows and stabbed them into the pillar above her, flipping up and over her opponent and letting her smack into it. Dropping down behind the warrior bride, Huntress fired a trick arrow that opened into a net at Qandisa, keeping her pinned to it.
Meanwhile, a few feet away, Ngai smashed open a glass case, retrieving a tribal spear from it before pointing the spear at Batwoman. "I think I'll set this spear out front of my house with your corpse on it, just to show the world!"
"You might want to reconsider that," Batwoman replied, holding her cape closed around herself.
Ngai simply yelled out in reply, charging the Dark Knightess, who didn't budge. Finally, at the last moment, Batwoman threw her cape back, revealing she was holding a Batclaw in one hand, aiming it for the spear and knocking it free of Ngai's hands and sending it tumbling across the ground. Ngai, now unarmed, ran right into a left hook from Batwoman, falling back on her behind. As soon as she was done, Ngai found herself tied up with bolas.
"Can't say I didn't warn you," Batwoman said with a grin.
"Kate, might wanna help Raven," the Dark Knightess heard in the earpiece of her cowl, much to her surprise.
"Oracle," Batwoman answered coldly. "How the hell did you-?"
"Later," Barbara insisted. "Raven needs you NOW."
Turning to look across the room, Batwoman watched as Lion-Mane leaped up from the busted remains of a crate, smashing through Rachel's barrier and tackling her to a wall. Using her Batclaw to zip-line across the room quickly, Kate managed to level Lion-Mane in the temple with a well-placed side kick, knocking him off Raven and sending him sliding across the floor. Drawing a concussive-blast Batarang, she waited until the were-lion got back to his feet, Black Canary rushing over.
"Feel like a combo?" Dinah suggested, getting a quick nod from Batwoman. The Dark Knightess hurled the Batarang, Black Canary letting loose a Canary Cry that shot the explosive bat-shaped throwing dart forward hard and fast, the resulting explosion mixing with the sonic attack for a powerful blast that knocked Lion-Mane out cold.
"Nice shot," Huntress complimented as she made her way over. "I'd call that game."
"Batwoman, you might wanna let the others know, the police are on their way," Oracle said over Batwoman's earpiece as the latter used her strongest cables to tie the man beast up. "You'll be wanting to take your leave."
Batwoman nodded, looking to the others. "The PFPD are on their way. Let's make ourselves scarce. Raven?"
Raven nodded, letting her familiar out as it enveloped the group. They felt themselves in motion, apparently moving through the air as they heard sirens pass below them. Within a few minutes, the Birds of Prey found themselves back in The Attic, Oracle watching the museum security cameras over the computer screen. The police were arriving en masse, with heavy equipment for locking up Lion-Mane.
"Sent them an anonymous phone call," Babs explained. "Don't worry, they won't be able to trace it."
"Once they've arrested them, the first thing they'll check is the security cameras," Batwoman pointed out, "and SOME of us were trying to keep a low profile."
"Oh, I don't think they'll find much on the security cams," Oracle replied with a smirk, hitting a button on the keyboard and closing the security camera feed. "I just cut all ties between the museum and here, AND deleted all saved video footage from their digital cameras."
Kate's jaw looked ready to drop through the floor, Dinah just giggling at the look on her face. "That's just Babs, BW. You get used to it after a while."
Huntress yawned loudly, stretching a bit. "Oh man, I NEED to hit the sack, pronto."
Raven nodded. "Good idea. Batwoman? Do you need a lift back to...Well, wherever it is you live?"
"I'm fine," the Dark Knightess responded. "Goodnight."
Batwoman's team-mates just shrugged, Raven pulling them back into her familiar before they vanished from sight. The Dark Knightess then turned to face Oracle, who sighed, wheeling away from the computer desk.
"...I get it, Batwoman," Barbara muttered. "Not wanted, getting invasive. I'll leave."
Kate groaned, pulling her cowl off, taking the long red wig with it, revealing only mid-length red hair underneath. "That's not...Dammit, Gordon, do you HAVE to be so damned good at this?"
Babs stopped, staring at Katherine like she'd grown another head. "Is that what this is about? You envy me?"
"Yes, Goddamn it!" Batwoman cursed, plopping down into a seat. "You're making me look completely pathetic in my own arena! This is supposed to be MY operation, and you've completely taken it over! And I know that you're just doing your job, trying to help as best as you can, and maybe I would be doing the same if I could, but between you and the Birds, it makes me wonder why I even bother with this in the first place!"
"C'mon, you're freaking Batwoman," Barbara insisted.
"Yeah, I know!" Kate yelled, finally letting days, no, MONTHS worth of pent-up issues loose. "But the fact is, if Batman had his way, I wouldn't be Batwoman! I wouldn't be ANYTHING! That man inspired me to be a crime-fighter, a detective, to use my family's fortune to stop crime and evil, and he treated me as a nuisance! I was SO glad to finally get the hell out from under his shadow and be operating on my own, and now look! I'm just a member of a team now, and everything, EVERYTHING I can bring to the table can be done better than me!"
Katherine grunted, tossing her belt off and across the room, a stray Batarang flying out and sticking into the wall. She stared up at the ceiling, panting as she'd finally let everything out. She felt relieved to do so, and yet, ludicrously embarrassed at the same time, especially given who she'd vented in front of. Through all of this, Barbara wasn't saying anything, instead wheeling over to a window, looking up at the moonlit sky.
"You have no idea how lucky you are," Babs said, a hint of sadness to her tone that didn't go unnoticed by Batwoman. "To do what you do, to be able to actually go out and stop crimes. To swing from buildings, the wind in your hair, and the Bat on your chest."
Kate's eyes widened, realisation hitting her like a sack of bricks to the skull as she at last connected the dots, knowing who she was really talking to. "...Batgirl?"
Barbara turned back to face her, slipping her glasses off. "I'd say 'The one and only', but that's not exactly accurate."
Batwoman just stared, dumbstruck, before the next obvious question popped up in her mind. "How-"
"Joker," Babs answered. "Though, as I'm CERTAIN he would find funny, it wasn't because I was Batgirl. He didn't even know, and I'd already decided to hang up my cape for a while and go back to college before that. No, it was just because I was the Commissioner's daughter, and he wanted to send a message, so he shot me in my spine and paralysed me from the waist down. And now, I can never go back to it."
Katherine looked down at the floor, unsure of what to say, before Barbara went on. "But, after about a year, I realised something: Even if I could never go out into the field again, even if I never got to be Batgirl again, and even if there would be a LOT of days where I'd miss Batgirl like crazy, there were still things I could do to help those who could. All I needed to decide was whether or not I was committed enough to the ideals of justice to do it. And that's why I'm here, because I AM."
Kate looked up, seeing the light against the Batarang stuck into the wall casting a bat-shaped shadow as Barbara continued. "You still have things you bring to the table: Your deductive reasoning, your military training, your knack for building gadgets, and your adaptive skills in the field. The question you need to decide for yourself, right here and now, is if you are committed enough to doing justice and carrying the banner of the Bat to use them. Ask yourself, right now, do you really want to be Batwoman?"
Katherine stood up, her eyes fixed on the shadow on the wall, almost like her own personal Bat-Signal. After what felt like an hour of staring at it, she picked up her cowl, holding it in her hands. She then traced her fingers across the red Bat emblem on her chest, feeling the edges against the tips. She then turned to face Barbara, as yet another realisation hit her just then.
"There's one other thing I want to be, besides just being Batwoman," Katherine answered.
"What's that?" Babs asked as Kate put her cowl back on.
"Your legs," Batwoman answered. "You bring what you can to the field, and I'll do everything I can to put it to effect IN the field."
Oracle grinned, putting her glasses back on. "Well then, let's get to work."

AUTHOR'S NOTES: So, first and foremost, about Killing Joke. Basically, the part about Joker shooting Barbara is kept intact, but the part about stripping her naked, taking photos of her, and sending Gordon on the Tunnel of Love with photos all throughout didn't happen in this continuity. Why? Well, really just to avoid one issue I have with The Killing Joke: It's kinda hinted that Joker may have done more to assault Barbara then just what is explicitly stated and/or shown, and that he quite possibly raped her. Now, I don't know that for a fact, but just the idea of it is just icky as all hell. Plus, while The Joker in my continuity is sick and twisted, I'm kinda leaning less toward the comics and more towards Batman: The Animated Series, where he would kill, maim, and torture, but the lengths he'll go to aren't quite as far as he's gone in the comics. Not to mention, once he's done certain acts, it becomes hard to do Joker stories that aren't huge, over-the-top deals. In other words, when he's murdered Jason Todd, crippled and violated Barbara Gordon, had his face cut off, and then orchestrates a grand mental torture session for the entire Bat Family, it becomes hard to write him in stories where he's just robbing banks or spreading Joker Fish. And finally, and I get that this may clash with some people here, but me personally, I feel that rape should never be used in a story unless absolutely nothing else can be used to the same effect, and I just feel that the rape was not needed to tell any stories involving Joker and Oracle. JUST SAYING.
Anyway, sorry if the past two chapters seemed like skippable filler, but there was just a lot I wanted to explain about Babs and Kate, as well as developing their characters and seeing how they connect to each other. There are other elements to them and the others that I haven't covered yet, mind you, but this felt like a good mini-story to tell these ones in. In fact, if you've been paying attention, there's something I'm eventually warming up to revealing about Raven that is actually different from...Well, I'm pretty sure every version of her to exist within the comics and TV shows. Although there have been other fanfics that did this. lol
But yeah, check back in next time as the group decides to have a girls night out, which can ONLY end in a disaster of some sort, and a certain well-known superheroine might just decide to pop in and say hi. ;) Ja né!
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Infinite DC - Birds of Prey: Dark