"Stop fidgeting."
Her father was a lot of things. Stubborn, strong, relentless, fair and, most importantly, loving. Being the age she was now and knowing how the real world work, it shouldn't have been strange for him to become a shadow of his former self after her mother died. Just dive headfirst into that fermented ooze and never come back for the remainder of her life, something a majority of people would've done after losing the love of their life. But he hadn't done that. He'd forced himself to keep on going while making sure to steer her in the right direction in life. Sure there were times where that mask of grief came melting down but that was usually during the anniversary. A somber time for their small family.
James Gordon was a good man and an even better father. And there wasn't a day she wouldn't defend this man even if the whole world was against him.
But despite that, it did nothing to stamp down on the frustration boiling up to the surface.
"You're making it too tight Babs."
The six foot tall man in relatively good shape for his age, grumbled like a teenager. That oh-so familiar scowl spread across his face that frustratingly reminded her distinctly of her own. So much so that she yanked on the two ends of the plain black tie more than that was needed.
"It's suppose to go up to your neck," Barbara replied for what felt like the third time already. Hands carefully weaving the ribbon over and under until the same triangle shape knot formed, before sliding it up to wrest just a few centimeters above his chest bone. "I'm not helping you fix it if you undo it again."
A lie they both knew. There was no way she was going let him walk out there with a crooked or goofy tie, he deserved some more dignity than that. Especially given the situation. Even from so far away, it was easy to hear the barely contained chaos. Loud chattering, the ceaseless snapping of cameras and the impatience that could be practically through the marbled walls.
Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she noticed quite the retinue of police officers standing guard mostly with stony expressions on their faces and a slight amused twinkle in their eyes. They were all familiar, whether from her dad's sporadic poker nights or doing him a favor to pick her up from school. Older than she remembered, with bits of gray in their hair or their crow's feet growing more pronounced but that was just the price of aging. Each of them were good people, sticking close to her dad and even backing him up when the previous commissioner was breathing down his neck.
They all had that same proud air about them. Black uniforms freshly ironed, weapons polished to a near shine and not even a single coffee stain or dried jelly anywhere in sig-
Her green eyes locked on a small stain at the corner of one of their collar and it nearly caused her to let out a groan of annoyance. There, a rather fit man looking to be around in his late thirties with a well groomed beard had what looked like a pink smudge in half the shape of a pair of lips. A color she knew his WIFE hated with all her heart, being more of a maroon crimson type of girl. But if her memory served correctly, there was a recent intern that often wore such a shade of lipstick.
The guy, the idiot, had no idea of the shit storm that was coming his way when his wife saw him today. Especially if going by the stupid grin spread across his face.
Blue met green as father and daughter locked knowing gazes, it seemed they both hoped neither one of them would be caught up in the cross-hairs..And who knows, maybe the officer's wife wouldn't find out. Overlook it and never think twice about it, forever living in ignorance...Who was she kidding, Barbara was for sure going to make sure an anonymous note would be slipped to the stay-at-home mother.
"Thanks." Her father grumbled, grubby fingers already inching their way to undo all that hard-work. She felt the urge to sigh at that, but what was she to do? Even getting the man to wear something besides that faded trench coat had been an uphill battle. Getting him to at least trim up the stumble to make that mustache pop out to the foreground was already nearly impossible. So fine, if he wanted his tie to be loosened while they waited, then so be it. Just as long as he didn't completely undo everything.
"Did you bring your speech?"
The copper hair girl didn't wait for his reply and slipped out a small stack of flashcards with easily legable penmanship, large enough for the visually impaired and even locked together on a ring just to make sure it all stayed in order.
"Oh...thank you, what would I do without you Babs?"
His words said one thing but from how downtrodden he looked, it spoke of other feelings entirely. The higher-ups, not trusting him for good reason if she might add, had prepared a speech for him to use during this press conference. His previous interviews being extremely popular for all the wrong reasons. And she knew for sure that were plenty of those same reporters standing outside right now ready to rip into him for any minor slip up.
She'd read through the speech and hadn't really found anything too strange or odd. It was a simple greetings, a short summary of his background and finally how honored he was to take on the mantle of commissioner. It was straight and to the point, no leverage for reporters to sink their claws in or anything that might come back to bite him in the ass later. If anything, the only she could see arise from this was how much it sounded a lot like a politician. No real answers provided and dancing around certain issues to avoid being the bearer of bad news.
And anyone who knew James Gordon, would know it simply wasn't him. It was soulless, lacking even a fragment of her father's character, but it was safe. Safe enough to provide him an easier time going forward..
"I don't know," She shrugged, slapping away the fingers that sought to undo all her work once more. He could loosen it, not completely undoing the knot. "Eating nothing but corner store snacks."
When you remember to eat at all.
With how many people were around, it was better that last part was left unsaid. No reason to show weakness right before his big day. Most people ate food for the taste but for her dad, it was a nuisance. Even that burger place he 'loved' only earned that vaunted place in his heart because of the excessive fries they just poured into the bag until it became wet from grease. It was cheap, fast and filling. That's all that mattered to him.
Hell, he didn't even care that she'd started replacing those greasy fries with some baked sweet potatoes fries just to spare his heart trouble down the line.
Her comment got a few low chuckles and even a rather sheepish grin from the man himself.
They all knew how he was.
"-sent to you all," The speaker could be heard wrapping up their long winded speech. Something about duty and the responsibility every individual citizen has. But from how much murmuring she was able to hear, the lecture hadn't really landed. "Captian James W Gordon."
It seemed that her dad was up and just like that, all the police officers around them stood to attention with puffed out chests. Their training on full display as the crowd grew more chaotic.
To her, her dad was the strongest man there was in this world. Stronger than Batman, more so than even Superman. There was nothing this man couldn't overcome, wouldn't throw himself head first into and not come back up for air until the job was done. But even strong people needed a push.
Just like her fath-no, hero needed now.
"You're going to be fine."
Barbara soothed to the frozen man, those blue eyes looking out to the smiling speaker and the front-stage of Gotham city. He'd been and lead a few conferences, but back then it was an obligation that officers drew the short end of the stick for. Something his boss had forced him to do when no one else was available or willing. This was different, by a long mile. Unlike those times, he actually cared this time around.
Puffing out a breath, the large man gently wrapping his arms around her. Pulling her in close enough to smell that old cheap cologne he knew she hated and places a mustached kiss right on her forehead, maybe she would've felt the urge to push him away at the public display of affection. Shouting something about it being gross or embarrassing, but that was years ago in her eyes. She was beyond caring what other people thought and knew that moments like these were precious, time as Batgirl had taught her that life was short and unexpected. All it would take was a single stray bullet, one lucky shot to shatter this small family into pieces. Leaving the survivor nothing more than a husk of their former selves.
And so she silently closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him as well,
"I don't know how much I'm able to thank you." His voice was low, a caring conversation for just the two of them. "I don't know if I'm going to screw this up but with you in my corner, I'll try my best. For you...and for your mother. She would've loved to see this. Loved to see me dress up like a penguin and walk across that stage like my dickhead of an uncle...I just hope wherever she is, she's smiling down at us. I love you Babs."
"Mom would've been proud of you." The women might only be a long faded blur of memory, but the ripples she sent out followed her well after her death. And from the pictures lying around, Barbara could attribute her looks to her. A blessing really. She really didn't want to grow a mustache. "I love you too, Dad...but you should probably get out there. The speaker looks like he's struggling."
"He can wait, he's normally an ass anyway." But despite this, her dad unwrapped his arms and took a step back. He might have quite the sharp tongue but his actions spoke louder than words. "Wish me luck."
"You don't need it."
And with that, she gently pushed him forward. Not enough to actually force him to stumble, but just to fuel his starting few steps. She saw him take in a large breath before straightening his spine to attention. Arms held to his side and head forced forward. It was like a switch had been flipped, an almost palpable wave that slammed into anyone nearby.
As he walked, officers on either side saluted. Staying in attention as the large man passed. Not a single expression on their face, but their eyes glimmered with pride. The crowd, which had begun to murmur among themselves, nearly exploded when her father entered the stage. And the sounds of camera flashes went up to a near constant stream. The flashing lights was even enough to force her to squint her eyes from that far away, but he just went on.
Turning her head to the large television, she saw her father's stony expression and resolute foot steps. Getting closer, the greasy looking speaker smiled brightly and reached out to shake his hand. She watched his smile become more strained once a massive hand nearly crushed it into a fine paste, taking a step back afterward he left the podium for the officer to sink or swim.
Her dad could be seen staring blankly at the endless crowd of people, accept the endless deluge of flashing lights and ignore the reporters nearly frothing at the mouth to get their questions in first. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small stack of flashcards with a ring running through them all.
His eyes darted down and mustache willed as he began to speak.
"My name is James W. Gordon…" Before he paused for just a moment, hand growing into a blur as he rapidly flipped through the flashcards. A look of understanding and exasperation crossed his face as he looked off to the side and she did the same. Green met blue, a scowl crossed swords with a reassuring smile. Holding up her thumb, she moved words only for him.
Just be you.
The very same words she'd written at the very end of all those blank flashcards.
That speech the had prepared would've been fine for her granduncle but not for her dad, he was no politician and Gotham knew it. The city respected him for his bold and to the point personality, anything different wouldn't do anything but impede him.
And anything a Gordon put their mind's to, they did with everything they had.
Turning her sights back to the screen, she saw him clothes his eyes for a moment before setting the stack down to the corner and to her horror, yanked on his tie hard enough to force the knot to hang low on his chest. He rummaged around his jacket pocket and pulled out two things. A cigarette she knew was the cheapest brand out there due to how awful it smelt and an old beaten up metallic lighter. The crowd watched on as he ignited one end and took in a heavy drag, movement smooth and well practiced.
His shoulders slumped as he exhaled, nerves cooling with that cloud of nicotine running through him.
"My name is James W. Gordon." He repeated, but this time the difference was noticeable. There was an audible timbre of command that wasn't there before, instantly quieting the crowd down enough to not be shouting into the microphone. "I've been in the GCPD for just about twenty years now. Gotham is my home. I grew up here, got in trouble, found love, had a family and lost love in this city. And despite all that time going by, only one thing had been a constant. Gotham is a shitty place."
A blow landed right in the haughty faces of the higher ups, but honestly what had they expected? For him to be a good little puppet for them to toss down as a sacrifice whenever things went awry? That wasn't the man she'd grown up watching, especially not someone who taught her to act the exact same way.
A small grin stretched across her face as the camera zoomed in on multiple officials expression go white from horror and even some light chuckling could be heard from the nearby officers standing guard.
"Gotham is awful." He repeated himself, just in case there were a few people not paying attention. "It smells awful, the weather's terrible and most importantly, the roads are so beaten up that's better to just walk everywhere if I don't want my hip to slip out of place."
Murmurs of agreement could be heard among the crowd, people turning to each other in a shared glance of suffering. It wasn't uncommon for Gothamites to complain to each other about those very same things, but this was probably the first time a public figure actually said something about it. A fact, she knew to be purposeful.
"The crime rate's through the roof, corruption running rampant in our own police force and now we have people dressing up in Halloween costumes to take justice in their own hands!" There, she felt a bit of jab her way. It couldn't have been intentional but they still didn't mean it didn't sting. Ever since their showdown with Clayface, vigilantism had skyrocketed to an unprecedented level. There had been so many copycats over the weeks than ever, making their jobs so much harder to do. Hell, she'd even had to save one from getting their skull crushed in by some other enthusiastic thug. "I won't make any promises to you all, you've heard it all before. I'm going to let my actions speak for me. As of right now, as my first act as GCPD's Commissioner hereby invoke my right to force a thorough internal investigation on the GCPD itself. And any filthy, gutter chugging son of a bit-"
"Thank you everyone for coming to this auspicious ceremony!" The speaker, now possessing a thick sheen of sweat across his forehead spoke through another microphone. Her father's lips were still moving, finger pointing into the nearest camera with a cigarette dangling out of the corner of his mouth. They didn't know exactly what he was saying, but she felt most people didn't need to them to see how passionate he was getting. It was pretty clear they'd shut off his mic. "We will skip the live interview and close things out here! Please be calm, there will be officers nearby to make sure your exit is properly conducted. And once again, thank you for come and for those back home for tuning in!"
***
'That's the Commissioner alright.'
Albert sighed as stood among many other's as they all stood huddled up close on a small television screen through a storefront at the absolute chaos on full display. The crowd had been quite quiet as they listen but now, there was an energy about them that infected their very souls. Grins could be seen, a mere sparkle of restrained hope.
James Gordon had been an excellent choice for commissioner. He was respected, well known and most importantly of them all, carried all the hallmarks of the everyday Gothamite. He wasn't some upstart from out of the own who knew nothing but someone who walked these streets just as much as anyone else. So in theory, no one should be upset that he'd gotten the position.
But that had been on paper.
It was often said plans barely hold up against the human factor and this was no different.
They should've known he wouldn't stick to the script, even just looking at the absolute cinema that were his past press conferences was enough to tell any sane person that.
'Maybe it was on purpose?' If the officials were anything like Angeline's mom, then it was hard to imagine any of them being this neglectful. 'If it was, it means that even some of them are getting fed up with how this city was ran.'
Even if they had expected him to go off the rails, they'd probably hadn't accounted for his first act as Commissioner. Sure, from the stories Harley told him, there were plenty of internal investigations conducted by the GCPD that had completely cleared them of any wrong doing. Even their most recent debacle during the lock-down had been cleared by the previous commissioner. So honestly, his announcement shouldn't have even made anyone even blink. But the city knew James W. Gordon.
When he said he was going to do something, it wasn't a matter of if but when.
So, it clear why they'd cut his mic off so suddenly. It was to stop him from using this platform to announce more acts and from the dark looks on a smattering of officer's faces, they knew their ticket was punched.
This should be good thing. The police were going to be actually held accountable for their corruption and for the next six months at least, they'd be on their best behavior. And with both Batman and the police working at two separate angles, the crime rate should begin to drop at a lot steeper decline.
Which made his job, a lot harder to do. Before, the cops wouldn't have even glanced in his direction as he was making his way to the Circuit's arena fights. Most of them were just looking at the clock waiting for their shift to be done and over with. But now? He wouldn't be surprised if he was stopped for questioning or for breaking curfew as a minor.
That and this might even force the Circuit further into hiding, making his deadline even more urgent than it originally was. Not even mentioning the sudden decrease in job offers this would cause...
It was sad to say but as a freelance private investigator, the police doing their jobs was bad for business.
Slipping out of the small crowd that even had a few uncharacteristic smiles, he made his way back home.
"You think something actually going to come out of this?"
A voice asked from besides him, forcing his head to snap to the side at the person that had completely slipped his mind.
"T-that's James Gordon man!" Another person that had slipped his mind responded, the pair of them following after him as they made their way out of the crowd. "T-the same guy who c-cussed out that reporter until t-they cried!"
"To be fair," The large teen nodded sagely, as though to make up for his previous plunder. "The guy did deserve. He should've known better than trying to get his daughter's personal details..Like what did he expect would happen when he asked if she was seeing anyone or not? She was sixteen then, right? He had to have been at least twice her age!"
Albert looked from side to side, taking in his companion's appearances. One on side, a large teen with dark skin and an overall jovial air about him joked around with a rather lanky looking brunette teen wearing a pair of glasses.
Everything happening must've been enough to force the two's existences out of his mind, he'd once more been too absorbed in his own world to see anyone else. Something the pair didn't deserve.
He'd been extended an invitation to the group's vaunted horror movie nights by Marceline and had been picked up by both Steve and Michael to go to eat before the theater showing was ready. Everyone had been nice and the fact he'd so easily forgotten them in his own thoughts made him feel like a massive tool.
'Just like in my old life.'
He'd done the same back then, forgetting entirely about people who tried to reach out to him only to have their hands slapped away like they were some kind of bother. How could he blame anyone else but himself for how his life turned out after everything?
It wasn't fair to them and it wasn't fair to his new life. He owed himself enough to make an effort to maintain relationships like these.
"He seemed like the guy who kept his word." Albert added in, forcing his mind not to dive back down into memory lane at his first ever interaction with the man. He'd been gruff and to the point, enough that he could completely understand why a lot of people respected him. He hadn't asked any intrusive questions and stuck strictly to what was required, especially that the person he was questioning was a kid that had just seen some pretty traumatizing stuff.
"Oh yeah!" Michael slapped his forehead. "You did mention meeting him!...wait, you might actually need to watch out for him if he finds out your trying to hook up with his daughter. You dog."
"I f-feel kinda envious now…"
Steve sighed with a slightly glazed over look on his face. Their first interaction with the red head hadn't gone very well, with only Angeline and Albert being the only ones at-least somewhat resistant to her dazzlingly appearance.
"I'm not trying to 'do' anything with her." It was the truth. Frankly, he wouldn't feel anything but relief if she never spoke to him again. Sure she might've been one of his many DC crushes growing up, but he knew enough to know things wouldn't work out for them. Not only would it be impossible to hide the fact he knew she was Batgirl, but that little voice in the back of his mind would always be telling him that she had ulterior motives being with him. It was poison strong enough to destroy anything genuine that might've bloomed between the two of them.
"D-didn't she give you her number?" The bespectacled teen chimed, voice dropping down to a conspiratorial whisper. "Have you c-called her yet? Set up d-date or anything?"
"Yeah!" Michael, bless his heart also tried to speak quieter but probably only made it more obvious that something must be going on. "You gotta tell us! I promise, I won't tell anyone...except my sister. But she won't tell anyone else...okay, maybe she'll tell my older sister."
"Maybe d-don't tell him." Steve elbowed his larger friend, with a grin. "But you c-can tell me! I literally can't tell anyone even if I w-wanted to!"
Unlike the laughter he'd probably expected, all that came were a pair of pointed and concerned looks his way.
"Who said something to you?"
Albert didn't figure the teen to be the type of person to care all too much about his speech impediment, not even when meeting knew people he wasn't one to shy away from a conversation. Hell the fact that recruiting the cameramen was his job specifically, showed that not even the group found it to be an issue in the slightest. But for that same person to now make such out of character self-depreciating jokes on his own behalf, it was of some concern.
"What he said." Michael, being the figurative bear of the group asked pointedly. There were few things to put the affable teen on edge, when someone attacked one of his friends physically, mentally, emotionally or even apparently spiritually, he was on whatever or whoever it was like syrup on pancakes. "What happened?"
The bespectacled teen looked as though he'd put his foot in his mouth and looked down at the cement ground, barely speaking above a whisper at the concerned looks being sent his way.
"Nothing happened…"
A lie so poor that one didn't need high level skills to tell. Sure, it might've been common for teens to become suddenly insecure about themselves due to their hormonal imbalances but there was generally a spark that caused that initial spiral. It might've been something small like a look interpreted a certain way or a thorough dress down from someone they actually cared about. The taller youth gentle put his arms around his shoulders, voice dropping down to a real low volume.
"Let's talk."
And silently, the pair went off to the side and sat down on some nearby steps. To get through something like this, Steve needed people who loved and cared about him before he allowed that insecurity to fester into something destructive. But now it kinda just left Albert just standing there awkwardly, trying his best not to feel excluded or left out. It was good thing then when his phone vibrated twice.
Fishing out the annoying device, he saw two messages coming in nearly back to back. Surprisingly, none of them came from unknown contacts. Eyeing one of them warily, he decided to take a look at the other.
Hey-hey! Sorry guys, it looks like HMN is gonna have to be postponed till next week D:. Lin's mom is having a cow over the press conference and now everyone in the household gotta pay for it. That and apparently, she's being forced to go to one of those fancy parties held by some rich brat's family...And she decided it was a good idea to bring me as her plus one XD, so we'll be out dress shopping until everything blows over at her place. You guys can come if you want, to the dress shopping not the party she only got a plus one. We can also get some food afterwards, hopefully we'll see you guys soon!
It was like he could hear the voice in Marceline's voice and even see her expressions, it did some to soften the blow. It looked like he wouldn't be able to experience the groups' vaunted night out and with everything happening, it didn't look like he would be able to join the group as they went out looking for the perfect dress. Looking over to the side, he saw both of them looking down at Steve's phone as they read the message.
'Yeah,' Albert thought with some levels of hurt that he quickly squashed. This wasn't about him and they needed to be together now. 'I'll give them some space.'
And dropping his eyes down to read the next message, he found quite the reason to skedaddle.
Hey Albert. It seems I became a lot more popular? If you watched...the show on TV, just know it's like a half an hour delay. It seems that my dad's position has forced me to go to small get together held by one of the local families and who else but you would I take as my plus one?! You can so no...but then I'll really think you're avoiding me.
Maybe if it was before, he wouldn't have even responded to the message but now? This was Barbara Gordon, daughter of GCPD's Commissioner Gordon! Even knowing she wouldn't use her new found position to crush him under the endless barrage of police harassment, it wasn't really something he could really decline without some version of push-back. Or even worse, she might even be able to use this as leverage during their next conversation.
"Are you coming?"
Michael asked and glancing up, he could see the pair of them dusting their hands off. Steve looked a bit better but it was clear seeing his crush in dresses was enough pick him up out of the mood he was in.
"Nah," Albert held his phone up as though to point it out. "I also got invited to go."
"By wh-No!" The large teen looked at him with wide eyes, mouth even falling open a bit. "She didn't?! Did she?"
"Y-you dog…" Steve even had the nerve to give him a comesserating look, placing a hand on his shoulder as though he was saying farewell to an old friend. "It was n-nice knowing you...the C-commissioner is going to kill you."
"I know Marcy's going to be sooo jealous!" Despite that, he looked pretty excited. "When we tell her, be sure to have your camera prepared. It's going to be epic to see!"
"I wish I could," He sighed, slipping his phone back in his pocket. "But it looks like I gotta find a suit...and I expect the places where your going will be well outside my price range. I'll see you guys later."
"No we won't." The large teen shook his head sadly. Placing a hand on his other shoulder. "If you believe that, then I'm sorry to tell you that the only one that'll be able to see you is Marcy...I'll see you on the other side."
"Y-you're a dead man walking…"