(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 11: The Last Train) Part 12: Aftermath When she arrived at home, she secured her ride, followed her normal routine of reviews and rode up the lift. But in the hidden room, something dark was waiting for her. She was ready to strike till he spoke. “Busy night you’ve had.” Batman said. His tone was not friendly She paused. “It was productive.” She replied. She was annoyed he got past her security unseen. ...
Part 1: Back at it The cool summer evening wind blew lightly as Lucy walks out the front door and down the street, heading toward the train platform. The party was still going strong, but she needed to be at work early in the morning, so she put her cocktail down, fetched her coat from the pile on the bed, thanked the hostess for a fun evening, kissed the cute guy whose number she got and left. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 9: She’s Back)_ Part 10: Meeting Face to Face Meanwhile, in another part of Gotham City, Catwoman was in her secret lair, alone with her lovely, rich captive Jennifer Wentworth. The stolen limousine was under cover, driven inside the build and draped with several large sheets to hide it from prying eyes. Like many others in the city, the building was abandoned long ago by a city moving forward and leaving its past behind for the use of Gotham’s less fortunate and undesirable. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 10: Meeting Face to Face)_ Part 11: The Last Train Batgirl slowly awoke. Within a moment, she knew she was lying on her back, but what she was lying on was a complete mystery. As her head cleared, she took in her surrounding, trying to understand what was happening. It was colder now and darker, like she was outside, yet still a roof was over her head. Yes, she was on the flat of her back, but her arms were held above her head. She knew she was stick straight, with her legs pressed tightly together. Her wrists were also bound together and held above her head. When she tried to move, she quickly realized she was tied up to something that was cold, hard, rather narrow and unyielding. Something was between her teeth and tied on tight too. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 1: Back at it)_ Part 2: Funerals and Wills All of Gotham’s richest and finest, and those hoping to be, were in attendance, and all doing their best to look spectacular in mourning wear, which a few of them did spectacularly. Though most of those who ringed the freshly dug grave site despised Bartholomew ‘Bad-Worth Bart’ Wentworth, they still came out in droves for the cameras and press that covered the funeral. Hundreds were there, outwardly looking sad, but many gleeful that the despicable business leader was finally as cold and lifeless as most thought his heart really was and about to be planted, his remaining mark in life a large, cold granite marker. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 2: Funerals and Wills)_ Part 3: A Meeting of Ways They made good time through midday traffic. The ride into the outskirts of the city was pleasant, giving Barbara time to make notes and send them off to her assistant. The built-up city gave way to subdivisions of home and then to open, large lands that surrounded the farms and the homes of the uncommonly wealthy. The limousine pulled through the gate, closing behind them as the auto rolled up the long drive to the front entrance of the large, gothic style estate of the Wentworth family. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 3: A Meeting of Ways)_ Part 4: Making Plans and Progress As Barbara rode back to her office, another family meeting was about to transpire. Brad drove his expensive sports car into the secured underground parking of Catherine’s luxury condominium. He took the elevator to the top floor of the high-rise building, the entire floor being Catherine’s domain, having the code to reach it without calling for access. He rang the bell and waited, annoyed that it took so long for the maid, a pretty and petite brunette, to answer. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 4: Making Plans and Progress)_ Part 5: The Attempt A small boat motored along the shoreline of the Wentworth estate just before midnight. It was a dark, moonless night, perfect for this sort of evening cruise the two sailors were hoping for. With the wind now coming off the land, the waves behind the bluff were almost non-existent. After a few moments of searching, they found what they were looking for and pulled the boat to the narrow shoreline. They tied the boat off to prevent it from drifting off and the two figures moved ashore. Dressed in dark clothing from head to toe and with camouflaged packs on their backs, only the sharpest of eyes would see them in the darkness, and at the secluded spot, no one would be looking in their direction anyway. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 5: The Attempt)_ Part 6: The Aftermath “She survived. Damn it, she survived! How the hell did that stupid slut survive it!” Brad demanded as he paced in Catherine’s sitting room the following afternoon. The maid had been dismissed and sent on errands to get her out of the way before Brad arrived, so they could discuss the less than desired results of their nighttime visit. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 6: The Aftermath)_ Part 7: The Next Plot For the next few days, there was little to report. Batman’s night visit resulted in very little hard evidence. He found a spot where a boat could have landed on the shoreline and scuffing on a small tree to indicate a boat may have been tied up there recently. However, the all-day rain had washed away any traces for footprints or a trail, so there was nothing to follow. A sweep of the area turned up nothing. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 7: The Next Plot)_ Part 8: Cause & Affect The weekend brought nothing new to report on any front, and Gotham City enjoyed a weekend of relative calm. As always, crime was in the news, as were the Caped Crusaders. But as of late, things were calm, and the exploits of the super criminals were in a lull, or at least the early planning stages. ...
(story continues from Batgirl - The Return 8: Cause & Affect)_ Part 9: She’s Back Barbara and Bruce were driving from the restaurant, having lost the usual gaggle of photographers that often followed him. It was a quiet dinner they enjoyed together and were heading to a show in the theater district when Bruce’s phone rang, the highly encrypted one that usually meant trouble. “If Barbara’s with you, you’ll both want to hear this.” Dick Grayson said. Bruce put the phone on speaker. ...