OUTLINE Interlude: Dick/Babs date New costume design. Pouches with computer satellite link-ups, anti- grav discs from Mr. Miracle Part Four. (Babel) Heaven's Ladder? Fall of the Tower -- Babel storyline. Reactions to Babel Day to day GL GL and Canary -- together again for the first time Lois interview? Part Five. The Joker Consequences Babs vs. GL New costume – like Hal's, but with NW-style equip pouches on arms and legs. Bat-stuff. Escrima sticks. QUERY about costume -- just energy?? Then how come it doesn't dissolve when Hal/Kyle goes unconscious?! "I've been making arrangements for the next Oracle. "Who?" "Ted Kord." Batman nodded slowly. "If he has your approval, then I accept your choice." He paused. "Provided," he added dryly, "that this does *not* mean Booster Gold will now be invading Gotham on a regular basis." "Give him a break, huh? Besides, he's not moving to Gotham." Interlude: Dick/Babs date Why now? Everything's changed... "*Nothing's* changed!: Dick said, with such conviction she found herself speechless. "So you're Green Lantern instead of Oracle. But that doesn't change-- Babs, why *now* and not before?" He couldn't understand. "But...everything IS different. I'm not tied to that, that chair--" "You never were. It *never* stopped you from going where you wanted, or wouldn't have if you'd ever left the tower." The harshness in his voice stunned her. "The wheelchair was an excuse, not a reason. I'm really wondering...what *changed,* Babs?" "you used the chair as an pretext not to be with me. Good excuse. I believed it for awhile. But unless you *really* thought that I cared about that--" He paused, and she shook her head mutely. No. It never had been that, not really. "...so it wasn't me, YOU were hiding, and let's be honest here." His voice softened. "You're still paralyzed. All that's different is really your method of locomotion. All the same rules apply, except suddenly you were willing to give us a chance." "I don't – don't understand, is that wrong, I don't know what you want!" "Nothing's wrong. I just...I wanted you to think about it. Between one day and the next you changed your mind... and I'm glad, don't get me wrong, but I want to understand why. You didn't--" realization passed over his face, but he didn't voice it. "What," she said dully, too confused to think. "You didn't trust me. Before. But with this ring-- the sense of power--" But about that, he was wrong. "I always trusted you." He wanted to believe it. "Babs..." "I didn't trust myself." Breathed deep "I was afraid. Terrified! so if the chair was just an excuse.... but that excuse is gone now... that hasn't CHANGED anything, okay, maybe you're right...but it gave me a reason to change my mind. Isn't that enough?" pleadingly. "Yeah." He smiled. "Yeah, it is. " Act X.. The Fall of the Tower The Tower of Babel storyline It would have been nice to have some time to adjust before the next crisis, but things never worked like that in their lives. This life she'd chosen. On the other hand, in an ironic way the timing couldn't have been more fortuitous. Ra's al-Ghul chose to attack the JLA only a week after she joined. The methods used to contain or defeat the others came from the Batman's own files--which Ra's daughter Talia had stolen months before, while Kyle still held the ring. There was no specific protocol for dealing with *her.* So Ra's men resorted to the old standby: sonics, the weapon of choice against heroes whose powers depended on concentration. They caught her in mid-flight, shooting her out of the sky with a powerful projecting beam, scrambling her thoughts and sending her tumbling to the ground. But after the JLA's last adventure Barbara had determined never to become completely dependent on the ring. She couldn't focus her thoughts but she *could* reach down to her unfeeling calf where she'd wrapped the translucent antigravity disc she'd acquired from Mr. Miracle. A single snap of the wrist peeled it away, the New Genesis material automatically hardening into a hovering circle large and strong enough to support her weight. For a moment she simply clung to it, hanging in midair, and then she hauled her body onto it to sit cross- legged. How does Ra's take her out? Can't use the Kyle trick. Something fast and brutal – NOT Bruce's plan, because he hadn't devised one for her when Talia stole the plans. Act XI. Reactions to Babel. Batman out of the League. Babs' own reflections on their similarities. Both control freaks, yep. Batman outside while they debated. The thing was, she'd known of those plans. Not the specifics, but the fact that he *had* thought about how to take out the JLA. It was part of his method, that's all: preparedness for any circumstance. But the *brutality* of them...that, she hadn't counted on. Surely there were less lethal methods than those he'd devised for J'onn, or Plas! Less painful than those used on Wally and Superman. Barbara had known Batman a long, long time, and even so, the utter ruthlessness of it left her stunned. Still...she had known, even in theory. And that made her complicit by association. It would be hypocritical to vote him out. Barbara was only thankful that Bruce hadn't gotten around to devising the plan to take *her* out. Or at least that if he had--and she had very little doubt about that--Talia stole the plans before he wrote it down. What he'd devised for her.... She never wanted to know. Says.... "I'm angry, too. "But despite that...." She sighed. "We talk about trust. I'm far too much in the habit of trusting Batman to stop now. I understand too well why he did it. So I can't vote to expel him." Plas, Diana, and Arthur didn't surprise her. Superman... The pain in him was almost tangible as he turned to the door. They knew, they all knew, what he would have to say. "For the good of the team." Batman must have known it too, because he was already gone. Act XII. Power and responsibility. Starts *really* being GL day to day. GL in action. Some clashing with Batman over methods, peaking when Barbara encounters the Joker in part 4. *wince* Part the Fourth. Act XIII. Old Wounds. Inevitably, the call came in. She'd insisted on being alerted the moment it happened, and even Ted's inflectionless Oracle's mask sounded like he regretted his promise as he relayed the information. "He's escaped." "Casualties?" "Two guards from the Slab --ck, @ end of BoP incident. No others reported yet." A pause. "As usual, the Batman has requested--" "He didn't request, he *demanded* that everyone else stay out of it, I remember the drill!" She took a moment just to breathe. "Thank you, Oracle." The mask shimmered away to show her Ted's face, pale and concerned. "Barbara, I know how you feel about this--" She didn't bother to correct him. "--but you know the hazards if you go in with an emotional response. Never mind *his* wishes, this isn't a situation you can handle rationally! I'm saying this as your friend, you know that." Because she did, she managed a smile. "I know. I appreciate it." "But you're going anyway," he said with resignation. "Yep." Ted sighed. "Should I alert him, or will you?" "I'll do it. You don't need to get involved in this one." "I am already. But I knew the job was dangerous when I took it." He smiled a bit grimly. "Be careful, Barbara, please." She nodded, wanting to be gone. "I will." "You're a poor liar," he said softly. "Oracle out." *** She found him perched on one of his favorite gargoyles, looking like a statue himself. She hadn't made any attempt at stealth, since that was pointless, and his voice when it came was as cold as ice. "I don't want your help on this case, Green Lantern." "No, of course you don't. I'm not offering to *help* you, anyway." Barbara stared at that broad back, willing him to understand. "I won't back off, Batman. He crippled me, killed Jason, killed my father's wife. I'm not as 'forgiving' as you." "Barbara." His voice was as grim as she'd ever heard it. "We don't kill." Because if you do, he didn't say and she heard anyway, you're just as bad as he is. "No," she agreed. "I won't kill him. But don't you dare ask me for more than that." She didn't wait for his response, but took off into the sky. *** He'd been hard to track, of course; even a power ring couldn't help you find a madman who was determined to stay hidden. But eventually he'd come out of hiding, and she'd reached him before the Batman only because she'd bent all her will to getting there first. She landed before him, barring the way. Somehow, she was calm. "It's over, Joker." He snorted. "you don't get to play. Wrong colors, MUCH too green. " He started to laugh. "Oh, well, it's been fun; can't wait 'til next time!" "No. It's *over.* You've had your last run." Something in her tone must have gotten though. "They'll kick you out of the superhero union if you play too rough, Lanternette. Or maybe you just don't care. Wouldn't *that* be a hoot?" He started to giggle again. "If you strike me down...." "Save it. I've heard it. But you're done. Good night, Joker." "What--" his eyes went wide as the green light surrounded him, and then he pitched forward onto the pavement. She was still standing over the body when he arrived. "Lantern. What have you done?!" "I told you I wouldn't kill him." She faced the Batman, feeling almost serene. "But he'll never hurt anyone again." Batman was leaning over the body now, checking its vitals. "He's breathing, but shallowly. Heart rate is slow. He's in a coma, Green Lantern." "Yes. And he'll stay that way." "Is this how it's going to be? Judge, jury--" "But not executioner. And I don't want to hear it, Batman. Yes, I made a judgment. I think the families of all the people he's killed, and all those he won't get a chance to kill now, would thank me for it. It would only be a matter of time before he escaped, like every *other* time he's been caught in the past. I won't have his next victims on my conscience, because there won't BE any." His voice was very low. "And next time? What about the next super- villain you decide needs to be 'taken care of' this way? Or the next? Is this your solution now?" She breathed out once, sharply. "Do you want a promise I won't do this again? I won't give it. Show me another murderer who's killed as many as HE has, who'll never stand trial for it because he's been judged insane and yet has not chance of ever being 'cured'--who lives for *nothing* else but the chaos and death he spreads--and yes, I might do the same! But short of that I'll play by the rules." "...this discussion isn't over. The League will have to vote, Green Lantern. You know I'll be recommending censure, at the very least." "You do what you have to do. And so will I."