bodilesswarrior | 28

Entry tags:

your love it burns away my darkness

28 - Video

[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?

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[Iris answers from the lab, her communicator perched on the shelf next to the beetle tank so that the screen looks down on her smiling face, watching the clockface of the control centre raptly.

She has welding goggles on and a smear of soot along her cheekbone.]

D'you think you even need to ask?