Barbara Gordon

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉

NAME: Sage
AGE: 29
JOURNAL: shobogan
IM / EMAIL: shobogan AT gmail DOT com
PLURK: shobogan
RETURNING: N/A

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Barbara Gordon
CHARACTER AGE: Early thirties? Yeah, let's go with that.
CANON ORIGIN: DC Comics (New Earth)
CHRONOLOGY: Two weeks after Infinite Crisis.
CLASS: Hero.
HOUSING: De Chima

( i've always been the tower )

[Barbara ought to look excited, despite the natural wariness and frustrated curiosity. Instead, she looks a little devastated.]

You know when you're pretty sure something isn't going to work, and you try it anyway? It's silly, isn't it? [Her voice almost cracks.

Then she takes a deep breath, and sets her shoulders, and makes herself sound strong.]

I've got to wonder if combining our abilities would let them reach further, but it's not an experiment I'm willing to try just yet.

Could everyone who's ended up with Admiral abilities check in, please? [She's kept track, of course, but that's no guarantee, she hasn't spoken to everyone directly.] I'd like to know what everyone's managed to do, and what their status is.

Cambridge - do you think scanning us would be worth it?

[Her eyes are red, and her voice is flat.]

Cassandra Cain is gone.

Does anyone feel like sparring? [She wants to hit someone. She wants to sweat and ache and bleed.]

[Private to David Cain]

Not you. [Her laugh is low and choked.] It's funny, isn't it, that I don't want to hurt you? [But she's not sure she could stop herself from going for his throat, right now.]

( Read more... )

[Public Video]

[Anyone who's been to it will recognise the Emperor's room. Melchior has clawed his way onto Barbara's lap, pawing insistently at her chest.]

So - the Emperor won't be making his Infirmary shifts. I'm pretty sure it's just a coma.

Zane - help me check, would you? If that's all it is, we can just put him into bed.

[She's never felt so small.

It's the sort of thing she would hide, usually, but not today. Her shoulders are slumped, and her expression is worn, and her voice is dull.]

Everyone I know - I'd just like you to check in.

[Iris, of course, has been at her side since they got back. It's helped - it always has, holding her close - but it can't overcome everything else.

She made a promise.]

[Emperor]

You, especially.

[A strained, bitter smile.]

You can say "I told you so" if you want.

[Spam! Open to All]

[She needed to get out. Out of her tower, out of her head.

She's dressed in an old black tank, hair pulled back in a short, low ponytail. Her hands are wrapped in frayed strips of cloth.

As soon as she gets to the gym, she picks a punching bag and starts wailing on it. It's not about precision, or stamina; she'll pummel the leather until her hands bleed.]

( Spam For Cass )

[Private to Iris]

[She still looks pretty bedraggled - her hair is a mess, and her cheeks are wan, and she needs to keep blinking the fuzz out of her vision.

But she's smiling, fervently warm.]

Miss me?

[Private to the Emperor]

[She waits a bit longer, for this - she wants to be more alert, more perceptive. She's still weary, but it's easier to focus, easier to act.]

How are you?

[Barbara hasn't reached out much, since the Joker's takeover. She's kept an eye on the network, made sure the people she loved came through, responded here and there.

But she's been busy.

She took a break for the port - all work and no play tends to make shoddy work - but after that, she focused on little else.

Now, finally, she's finished everything she needed to. She's ready to make her proposal.

She's set the device opposite her control centre. She sits in the middle of it all, bathed in ghostly light.]

For anyone who doesn't know - I'm Barbara Gordon. I've been a Warden here for over two years. Before that, I lived in Gotham city, and I worked with vigilantes.

[She snaps her fingers, and various projections appear - weapons, combat suits, protective gear.

Look, sometimes she just wants to show off.]

Obviously, the priorities are different here - but not entirely. We need to protect ourselves, and each other.

[Her lips twist with a dark, wry humour.] The Joker's takeover - it reminded me that we can't trust anyone, even if they deserve it. Any one of us could be twisted by outside factors. I'm not saying we get paranoid, or distance ourselves. I'm just saying "be prepared".

[With a wave of her hand, several images come to the forefront. They look like typical clothes - thick sweaters, long jackets, dark trousers.]

These are made with bullet-resistant material. It's the kind of stuff we use on our costumes, back home.

[Another wave, and they're replaced with tasers, pepper spray, smoke grenades. Everything is labelled and described.]

Lethal force - even serious damage - isn't always needed. Extensive training isn't always necessary, either. I'd suggest keeping something on you as often as you can, just to help you get away if you need to.

Of course, training doesn't hurt. We've got a lot of fighters, here, with different perspectives and styles. I know some of us are teaching people already - made we can make it an organised effort.

[Another gesture, another rotation. These are harsher weapons, blades and firearms and crossbows.]

I don't want to encourage rampant bloodshed, here, but we all know violence can be necessary. I'd rather people knew what they were doing.

[A slight shrug.] This isn't a foolproof solution. We can end up in port without any gear. We can face people impervious to everything I - or anyone else - can give you. We can be too slow, too distracted, too hesitant. [She doesn't want to make false promises, doesn't want anyone to get too complacent.] And I understand if you don't take me up on this. But I believe it will help.

[She's quiet, for a moment. She's tried to make this all business, but she knows that only reaches so far. She allows the grim, aching frustration into her words.]

I'm tired of just waiting for the next catastrophe, and I'm tired of being hurt by people I care about, and I'm tired of watching people I love die. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

[Private to Iris, Cassandra, and Stephanie]

[No, it doesn't actually end there.]

Which leads me to my next point. [She taps her headset.] My transceivers still work here, it turns out. I've been making transmitters. [Almost unconsciously, her hand brushes the golden canary at her neck.]

I'm still figuring out who I want to give them too - and I'm open to suggestions - but you three are first on the list, if you want them. [They know how she works, and in ideal circumstances, she trusts them more than anyone else.]

Cass - you should talk to your Warden, if you want to. And, relatedly - how would you feel about teaching people to defend themselves?