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“Ready for our dance, Baby Bat?” Catlad asked. Any other time he would have called her “Baby Bat”, Kai-Li Cain aka The Batgirl would have decked him.
Tonight, however, they were making for an opportunity that her parents robbed from them. A junior high dance.
Batgirl wrapped her arms around Catlad’s neck, pushing her hands through the hair that escaped his helmet. At the same time, she allowed him to place his hands on her waist. “If those claws of yours slide down any further, I’ll do what Shiva tried to do to you with her heels.”
Catlad smirked. “Never crossed my mind.” Batgirl twisted her lip at the claim.
Yet, she found herself matching steps with him as they waltzed around a lonely rooftop. The light of the moon shone upon them. Midtown Gotham illuminated by the moonlight. And Catlad- his blue goggles complimenting the atmosphere. While the moonlight complimented his complexion.
Steph was right, Batgirl thought, begrudgingly, get past the flirting and flaunting, Catlad’s…not too bad. She swore to herself that no one would find out she thought that. Not Steph, not Barbara, not Yatsu, not Dick, and especially not Catlad. He didn’t need an ego boost or more flirting material. Steph provides enough of that for him.
“Thanks.” Batgirl looked away from him.
Catlad moved his head back. “Thanks? Thanks for what?”
“For having my back against my par- for having my back against Cain and Shiva.” Batgirl faced him again. “They could have…they could have killed you and you showed no fear. And your plan to use the gymnasium against them—”
“Catwoman always says to think on your feet and to adapt to your environment. Also that showing fear lets your opponent know they’ve already won.”
“Batman says the same thing.”
Catlad smiled. “And I had the idea that G.I. Cain and Dragon Lady weren’t too familiar with sporting equipment. I’m surprised that you and Kai-Li Wayne share parents.”
“Two out of many…according to Batman,” Batgirl sighed, “for Cain at least. I just never expected Shiva to work with him, after everything Batman, Katana, and Batgirl, the original Batgirl, found out about her. Them. Me and them. He used her sister…he used her…just like he wanted to use me.”
Catlad bit his lip. “Dads…fathers…men; men can be like that.”
The two stopped moving. Catlad continued. “People can be like that. They bring life into the world, but when that life doesn’t meet their expectations, or has different views than them, they view that life as a failure.”
Batgirl wasn’t expecting that. She wasn’t expecting such deep words from an advisory. From a (sort of) rival. From Catlad. Her ability to read her opponent's body language was served, but still there. She grasped Catlad’s cheek. “Did you—”
He laughed, but she could tell he was hiding something behind it. Then Catlad smiled. “What you and Robin went through is nothing compared to what my Dad was up to when I was at boarding school. What I walked into right before I met Catwoman.”
“I wouldn’t call being held at gunpoint by a madman nothing,” said Batgirl.
“Yeah, but dads are supposed to treat their daughters better than their sons.” Catlad looked at the moon. “Like princesses.”
Those were the same words Bruce, Alfred, and Commissioner Gordon told her and Stephanie before. Two men who had daughters; one man…who had two daughters.
Batgirl joined Catlad and watched the moon. “And dads should treat their sons like princes. As a Mom would do, right?”
“Right.” Catlad looked at her. “I guess in a way, the universe helped us find a Dad and a Mom.”
Batgirl smiled at him. “It helped us find our own families. New families.”
There was a rumbling noise. Catlad reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He didn’t answer it.
“ Momma Cat ?” Batgirl asked in a teasing manner.
Catlad waved her off. “She finally took Bat-Dad’s advice and gave me a curfew. So, I guess our little rooftop waltz is finished. Kind of short since we got a little…”
“Yeah…” Batgirl held her shoulder, “talking was nice too.”
“So I guess I’ll see you around when I’m doing my vigilante thing.”
“You mean being a petty thief?” Batgirl raised a brow.
“Us Cats prefer petit .” Catlad waved goodbye and started walking away. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Batgirl. “Do you…think we may have danced before your parents tore Gotham Academy apart?”
Batgirl shrugged her shoulders. “There was something familiar about the way you waltzed.”
Catlad smiled. “There was something familiar about your lips.”
Batgirl waved him off. “Save the lip talk for Robin.”
“Then invite her next time.” Catlad grinned as hard as the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland .
Batgirl thought about saying something witty but settled for a flick of her hair. She grabbed her grapnel and shot it off, swinging away into the night. She looked over her shoulder to see Catlad swing away with his rope dart.
“And you think becoming one of Batman’s little birds is a better life than what The League of Assassins and House of Al Ghul would have offered you?” Batgirl’s mother, Lady Shiva, had said during their scuffle two nights ago.
Yes, mother, Batgirl answered the memory while enjoying the swing back to Wayne Manor, with Batman- with Bruce, Barbara, and Yatsu, I found a family and friends that your so-called league never had and will never have.