oracleisonline-a

[oracleisonline-a]

snowglobe

The wind outside was absolutely howling, the shitty single-paneled windows rattling in a way that had Barbara concerned about the damned glass blowing straight in. It was day two of one of the angriest winter storms Barbara had ever witnessed, no end in sight, and she was just counting her lucky stars that the power in her apartment building had managed to stay on…and ever-thankful for her tendencies towards being prepared that had her apartment well-stocked in necessities (cereal, vodka, coffee and ice cream mostly; other groceries as well, even if she planned on living off of the cereal until it ran out) since there was absolutely no going out when the weather was like this. An upside, considering the police and satellite scanners ever-running in the background had been silent: crime and everything else had paused, the general consensus evidently being it was too damn cold and snowy for any of the usual nonsense.

A downside being that the wi-fi had certainly slowed down to a rate that was infuriating by Barbara’s standards, outright unacceptable by Oracle’s, and the programs and servers that Barbara needed for her current projects were moving slower than the drip of frozen molasses. Green eyes were squinted in a glare at the two monitors she was working from, an exaggerated sigh leaving her nose as she tried to run and test the program she’d been working from, the error message and corresponding noise that followed forcing a frustrated noise from the back of her throat. She imitated the noise right back at the computer, resisting the urge to slam her keyboard against the desk out of frustration.

A particular loud, outright ghoulish, gust of wind caught her attention and her gaze drifted upward towards one of those rickety windows instead. The snow outside was an absolute blur of white, visibility reduced to nothing as the snow blew sideways in the dull yellow light of the flickering street lamp outside. It reminded her of the snowglobes she’d collected as a child, lining the many shelves of her childhood bedroom - ones brought back from trips they’d taken as a family, sent by family members as presents to see her light up with excitement in her eyes on Christmases and birthdays. The snow was constant, swirling and falling in a way that mimicked a snowglobe being shaken and spun upside down.

Gotham would always be Gotham, though the concrete toilet she called home always felt more peaceful under a solid layer of snow. The snow here was arguably much more pretty (and ferocious, with another reminding whoooosh of wind rattling her windows), though the sense of nostalgia that settled warm in her stomach was undeniable. Her favorite nights were ones spent on Gotham rooftops as Batgirl with Robin, red-cheeked with her breath blowing in front of her, footsteps and laughter quiet in the snow-filled air. Driving through the city, looking at snow packed roofs and lights when they were given a reprieve from the near-constant crap Gotham slung their way. Quiet days spent in the library of Wayne Manor or in her bedroom, snow quietly falling outside the window with their noses buried in books, sharing favorite passages and quotes as they came up.

A quiet grave, fresh with frozen-over flowers and snow on the headstone. So cold. Too cold.

A second chance, an impossible chance, an unusual snowfall in March with the windows of her Burnside apartment left open to let in the snow-smell. A soft “pause” pulled from kiss-swollen lips despite the urges to do anything but that, labored vodka-tainted breath and messy hair and want coursing through her veins, hot like fire with the cold wind from outside becoming welcome. Pause because this meant more than a vodka-fueled, desire driven moment. Pause because he was important, he was Jason, and she wanted to remember this.

A third chance, someway, somehow, so many years later: still air, quiet snow outside a nearly comical contradiction to the scurry and shuffle her apartment had seen, lips pressed hard against a sweat-slicked forehead, a staggered breath exhaled before she made the jump to press a desperate kiss against his mouth. “I don’t know what I’d do if I’d lose you,” quiet enough to nearly get lost in the too-quiet sound of snowfall outside and an otherwise silent apartment. Because she’d already lost him once, twice, and now he was here and there was no time for fourth chances or waiting around when life was so fucking short.

Like the few snowglobes lining her shelves now - ones of the New Jersey beaches with the boardwalks depicted, of Gotham’s towering skyscrapers that looked quiet and peaceful in stark divergence from its reality. Shake shake, swish swish.

The wi-fi may be unstable, the windows were absolutely questionable and the lights may be making her a little nervous with the flickering they did every once in a while…but things could be worse, especially considering her company, and Barbara would be a bold-faced liar if she didn’t admit that curling up next to him on the couch underneath a pile of throw blankets sounded far more appealing than continuing to struggle with the wi-fi. A different sort of pause, maybe a more specific unpause five years in the making, no more wasting time when there wasn’t time to waste.

Their own snow globe - undisturbed, quiet except for the blowing snow outside. Arguably her favorite one.

[oracleisonline-a]

i have no idea what i’m doing but i’ve made a (very wip) barbara indie account that can be found HERE, for any of my followers that want to hop on over there <3

[oracleisonline-a]

TO THE ANON IN MY ASKBOX -

to say i am WEEPIN over here is an understatement.  if you’re ever comfortable enough to come off anon and want to chat, please feel free to shoot me a dm <3

[oracleisonline-a]

beendeaddonethat​:

Yeah, sounded like Batgirl. And Oracle. Like Babs, in general. “Always,” he grinned, only to roll his eyes, unseen, as the dinner thing came up again. Dinner with the Huntress. Crazy. “Yeah, yeah…” He’d promised. They’d do it. Eventually. When he wasn’t scraping Rose, mostly dead, off a floor somewhere, or taking point for Hawkeye, or, or, or… Sokovia had wound up busier than he’d ever expected. Definitely busier than he made it out to be, super vaguely, whenever Babs squinted his way as he slunk back into her apartment. She was worrying, he knew. Wondering. Not out loud, usually. As if she had to. He could tell. 

A minute? “I’ll time you,” Jason replied, keeping a keen, confident eye on the factory floor, the catwalks overhead, the industrial rafters above - all shaded in night vision green, then blaring into infrared indigos and purples and oranges. The electrical skeleton of the place was cold, less than latent. Shut off, as the closed-for-business look suggested. Up here, anyway… 

“You? Bossy?” Smirking something fierce, he did his best to sound shocked. Man, but it was nice to have her along for the ride. Felt some kind of right. The faint tip-tap of Beegee’s jackhammer typing ticked along in their shared background as he spun, paced. Spun again, paced back. Just waiting on that Oracle magic, humming with the thrill of a job going right. Weirdly right, maybe, for all the shit they’d expected. But he wasn’t about to jinx it by pointing that out. The superstitions of a sidekick. 

Yeah, he might’ve made a sort of sound at should work - but, all the same, he’d snapped into place, on track, listening intently as Barbara led him forward. A retinal scan; alright, the Hood had been built to allow for that. It’d been built for most things. The Bat didn’t workshop any other way, without every possible angle considered, accounted for. “That was fifty two seconds, by the way.” Lining up with that scanner, Jason lowered his chin, staring the beam down, a hot spot of white that splayed into a band, sweeping, whirring. He stayed still, shoulders clenched. Done. Good? That was a good beep, yeah? “Sweet. Let’s fuck around and find out,” he straightened up as the door began - in layers, he’d guess, from the one-after-another grind-drags - to open up. “Must be something good. You hear that? Heavy shit.” Blast resistant plating, a couple levels at least - that hadn’t been in those schematics. Blinking his dazzled eyes, Jason rocked on his heels. Impatient. Ready.

Or not. 

His landing, yards back and hard enough to skid and roll, uncontrolled, didn’t hurt half so much as the kick that’d sent him there. Two bootprints, right over his heart. Which he could feel, stuttering in his chest. Shit. The Red Hood heaved, too shattered to get a word through that precious comm link. Not that he didn’t try, rasping down the line in the half-moment before the next bone-crunching blow knocked what was left of his breath away. 

...

“Either you count fast, or I’m losing my touch.” Barbara rolled her eyes at fuck around and find out as though he could see her, huffing out something of a laugh. “Definitely ready for the find out part, so as long as the fucking around leads to that, you’ve got the green light.” Especially since her hack had worked, she got the confirmation on her end and could hear the movement of metal on the other end. “Something good would be good. Could definitely use the win, considering the goddamn stand-still I’m at with my other project.” She’d known going in that hacking into the ISA was a...big, broad job that had been slow to start and was even slower in terms of progress. This side project had been faster moving, and Barbara knew all too well how used to immediate gratification she’d become in her years as Oracle. It would be nice, to have some real progress and results in-hand from this job as compared to the fucking snail’s pace she was pushing through on the other end. Metal clattering was coming through, the sound of walls shifting and moving and lifting and Barbara could practically see it. She was at the ready for whatever security may be on the other side, wouldn’t be surprised if there would be a system or five to hack into for the sailing to continue to be smooth. Barbara’s was up for the challenge, ready for it. After all, these sorts of jobs weren’t fun if they were easy. But, perhaps she’d miscalculated, and a tight frown formed as the soundtrack on the other line abruptly skidded and stopped, changing to a new tune altogether: the sound of moving metal and ticking locks had shift to a clamor and crash. The sound of conflict, of physical confrontation, with Jason seemingly on the other end of it.  Her shift in demeanor was swift, and Barbara felt the easy-going mood from moments before ripped straight from her fingertips. “Hood?” Before she’d even spoken, she was typing - working to hack into cameras that may not even still be online, needing a visual. She didn’t like the rasp of breath she’d heard following the initial sound of what Barbara assumed was an extremely solid hit, didn’t like the clatter and rattle of what she could assume was either Jason or the unexpected-turn-of-event recoiling or being blown backwards. Didn’t like the otherwise silence even more, or the sound of his breathing. Really didn’t like that she assumed the blown-back-party was Jason. Bad, all bad. “Red Hood, what’s your status?” Not good, from what she could surmise. This warehouse was meant to be abandoned, from her thorough resource: she’d expected no confrontation outside of those of the technical sort, prepared herself and him for security systems ranging from simple to extreme. There’d been no indication that there would be any physical presence, and now they were playing defense rather than offense which was certainly not preferable. She was making quick work to hack into his helmet, into whatever systems (surely there, even if they were unused) that would allow her to see his vitals, as dread began to wash over her, cold and inching from her stomach outwards, slow but steady. Barbara made simultaneous work of the cameras, trying to force her way into long-forgotten systems. “Hood, what is happening?”

[oracleisonline-a]

nomadcaptain​:

Steve watched her attentively, registering the lack of details about her mysterious friend. Nonetheless, he valued Barbara’s privacy as much as his own, and trusted that she was keeping it a secret for a reason – he was there for her, in case she needed it, but he wouldn’t push it. He also didn’t fear that it could reflect on a job poorly done, as she would rather sacrifice any semblance of a social life than slack on work.

“You say it as if I’m the one with the money here,” he said with a small smile. Bruce’s presence at the Mousehole was impossible to ignore, an all-seeing force to reckon with. “But I’ll pass the request over to finances. I didn’t expect the hacking to be finished quickly, not after Diana told me about Dr. Cyber.” He paused. “On another front, have you noticed any moves from Hydra? We know they wouldn’t find Boyle in our dungeons, but they consider him a valuable asset and they know he came to Sokovia.”

...

Barbara made a face at the mention of Dr. Cyber, nose scrunched up slightly in conjunction with a scowl. “AI be damned, I’ll get in. I just need time.” Oracle had yet to be beat, and Barbara wasn’t about to allow this to be the first time. She wasn’t used to push back of this caliber, a challenge of this degree...but she’d never been one to back down to those. The rate of the progress might be infuriatingly slow, but Barbara knew she’d be successful. “I’ve managed to code some programs to continually run, serve as something of a distraction to keep their systems and tech team busy and away from what I’m actually doing. There’ll be a progress report in, as soon as there’s more progress.” And lots of frustrated sighs and caffeine in the mean-time. “I’ve been trying to put together a timeline, based on Boyle’s file and the jobs listed there, see if we can piece together their moves. He’s been moved around, traded hands a few tiems, but I’m not seeing a pattern yet. I have managed to pinpoint a warehouse that was more than likely utilized by Hydra for their Winter Soldier program, and I’m in the process of sending an agent out to see what we can scrounge up, if anything.”

[oracleisonline-a]

wondxrwoman​:

“Hardly,” Diana replied with an amused huff. “You could say I had a feeling.” A feeling like… What agent could it possibly be that Oracle wouldn’t call out by name? Perhaps an agent who left his muddy shoes in the entryway of her apartment. An agent who’d be perfectly suited to such a mission, and would likely be willing to do anything Oracle—Barbara—asked from him. 

“I will respect that,” Diana agreed, cracking her neck. “Do tell me if you need anything for the mission. You know that if you or your agent need anything, I will be on-call. How far along are your mission parameters?”

...

“A feeling,” Barbara echoed, that frown returning and becoming practically palpable in her voice; she didn’t like that, having her plans be predicted, even if it was some special Wonder Woman intuition coming into play. “Well, regardless, your intuition was correct. I thought this agent would be well-suited for the task at hand, and they’re willing to step in for assistance.” Barbara could trust him in the field, knew he was well trained even if she may not always agree with his methods. Considering the warehouse she’d be sending him to infiltrate was associated with Hydra and the Winter Soldier program....his particular skill set might be necessary, even if Barbara wasn’t exactly warm to the idea. “Appreciate your willingness to step in.” There was less of a frown in her voice now as the conversation shifted. “I’m hoping it’ll be quick, the warehouse itself seems abandoned but I still figured it was worth a look-see. Can’t turn up our noses at any potential leads.” Or on any information on the kid in their basement. “We’ll be ready to go in a few days, I’ve gotten schematics secured and more-or-less have our plan ready to go.”

[oracleisonline-a]

helenahxnts​:

“She can probably transfer half of Jersey’s treasury into her dad’s bank account, but she chooses to make him birthday crafts,” Helena observed with a playful twist of her mouth, rolling her eyes fondly as she leafed through more photos. She lingered on one of her and Babs with Jim, a holiday picture, and wondered if that would be too self-serving to include. He looked happy, though. Probably because Helena was pretty sure that he’d thought she and Babs were an item and his little girl had found love again (etcetera, etcetera), but still… “I’ll cut, I don’t want to get glue residue on me. I have horrible memories from subbing for elementary schools,” Helena replied, plucking up the scissors before Babs could protest and reaching for some construction paper. She’d weasel in the holiday picture, screw it. And make some snowflakes to paste into the scrapbook.

“So,” Helena said as she started folding her first snowflake, crossing her ankles. “How’s tall, red, and murdery?”

...

“He wouldn’t accept half of Jersey’s treasury,” Barbara pointed out as she handed over a pair of scissors in Helena’s direction, bladed end in hand with the handle pointed towards her friend. “He will accept a cheesy scrapbook made by his daughter and by her best friend that he considers family and a lovingly crafted care package of local snacks.” Barbara was already sending those periodically, but this one was amped up bigger than usual with souvenir-y crap that she’d been carefully selecting for months now. “I’ve already got the care package half done, and now we’re burning the midnight oil to get the scrapbook half done so I can get this shipped out with enough time to actually get it delivered. Time management bit me in the ass a little bit here, here.” Considering the green light she’d gotten from Steve to start pushing into the ISA’s servers, she’d had time for little else and the days had started blending together; she still had enough time, but now this personal project would need to take precedence for a few hours. “You cut, I glue, and then I’m going to delegate the writing that’s left to you. I know my strengths, and my penmanship is absolutely not one of them.”  Set to work on the page she’d been working on, Barbara’s fingers made quick work of glueing down the pre-cut scrapbook pages and photos in a fashion that looked acceptable. She paused, rolling her eyes at tall, red and murdery and shrugged a shoulder as she sorted through photos. “Still coming and going,” which was better than Barbara could’ve asked for - he’d taken the key, he was using the key, and she was seeing more of him than she’d seen in years. They’d settled into something that was comfortable and easy, something that had Barbara feeling warm and content even if she was still lingering in that in-between where there were still so many questions. “Things are good. He had a run-in with Steph, which was less good considering she entered my apartment through a window, but that’s fine now even if she’s relentless with questions.”

[oracleisonline-a]

wondxrwoman​:

“Oh?” Diana asked delicately, a frown curling her lips and eyes narrowing into the middle distance. There were a number of people Oracle could have been referring to, and yet, for a mission like that… “One with whom you may or may not currently be cohabiting?” she prodded, leaning against the front of the train for a moment. Call it a feeling. “Or am I off-base?” Barbara could have been referring to, perhaps, Catwoman or a former SHIELD agent. 

And yet, Diana was fairly certain her guess was correct. 

...

Barbara instinctively frowned a little, squinting at the screen in front of her, as Diana seemed to call Barbara’s play effortlessly. "Am I becoming predictable?” That would certainly be a problem for a myriad of reasons, though Barbara didn’t feel as though she was. No, it was certainly feasible to assume that Diana had been able to follow the breadcrumb trail that she’d discovered herself when she’d visited Barbara’s apartment, mixed together with Auntie Di Amazonian wisdom to light the way. “You’re not off-base,” Barbara said, holding back the sigh she felt forming in her chest. “Though I’d appreciate if that information remained confidential.” The Red Hood was certainly...complicated, in the hero world, particularly when pertaining to the Bats in the room. Best if that information stayed need-to-know, with Diana.

[oracleisonline-a]

redplanetblueplanet​:

M'gann swallowed. She put David Copperfield back, but she didn’t feel like she’d made Barbara too happy about it. Though it occurred to M'gann that perhaps she wasn’t really the problem. Barbara seemed… Stressed. 

“How is your apartment? It must be nice to get away from here,” M'gann said quietly. “I know I’m just back, but I’m already thinking about camping out in the woods. And I would if Clint wouldn’t accidentally mistake me for a deer one day.” She’d be fine, but ow. “The library looks great, by the way. It’s really changed since I left. I like your style. It’s much more modern and airy.”

...

“It’s nice to have a change in scenery,” Barbara said, re-adjusting her glasses and pushing them back up the bridge of her nose into place. “Definitely quieter. Less distractions.” Not exactly true. Different distractions, in the form of her cat and Jason Todd. Oracle’s focus was laser-sharp, but it was nice to have less noise and faces popping in while she worked...even if Stephanie made her presence known regardless of where Barbara was working. “We can get you one of those orange hunting vests, nice and bright. He wouldn’t be able to miss it.” Barbara scrunched up her nose just slightly at M’gann’s compliment, sighing through her nose. “It’s an eternal work-in-progress. It was very solid for about..three days, after I get everything sorted and where it should be, before people started touching and moving things and before my assignments started rolling in. Librarian Barbara duties unfortunately come second to Oracle duties, and with me spending less time here there’s less glaring to ensure that books are returned to where they should be once they’re checked out.”

[oracleisonline-a]

redplanetblueplanet​:

“But I—but it—I didn’t…” M’gann fumbled to find the words. Already her eyes felt a little misty. She had always had trouble being spoken to sharply by authority figures. Or anyone. Two days after she had returned from her trip, a stranger on the street had yelled at her for being a red-haired foreign devil. Instead of ignoring him, she had run off with her coupon wallet and hidden under the shade of an outcropping of trees to catch her breath until she realized he meant, ‘not Sokovian’ rather than ‘not an Earthling.’ 

She took a deep breath, for both her sake and for Barbara’s. “I didn’t take the book from here. When I found it, it was in the wrong place.” M’gann held up the copy of The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account) for Barbara to see. “It was in with Middlemarch and Adam Bede. I only wanted to put it back with its friends.” Her thumbs pressed the corners of the book nervously. “I’m sorry. I can put it back.” She started to climb down the short ladder. “I’ll just put it back.”

... Barbara’s frowned deepend a bit, and she sighed. “You can put it back where it belongs,” she began as she reached up to remove her glasses, pinching at the bridge of her nose. “Please do, as a matter of fact.” She squeezed her eyes shut for just a moment, thumb and middle finger rubbing over closed lids before she slid her glasses back into place and looked back over at M’gann. “It wasn’t supposed to be where you found it, you’re right. I saw that you moved it and assumed. As you can tell, certan residents of the Mousehole appear to have a problem with putting things back where they find them.” Barbara had taken the time to arrange  and re-arrange the library, and her time was in such demand and short supply; careless errors were a waste of that time, which was a fucking crime as far as Barbara was concerned. “It’s about time for me to do a sweep through and inventory, move things back around, clearly. Thank you, for catching that. I’ll admit, I’ve been spending less time here and more time at my apartment in Matchak and apparently the shelves have suffered for it.”

[oracleisonline-a]

blackcanaryrising​:

…

“Is it just popcorn rolled in Taki dust?” she asked. “I bet we can make that here. Do they have regular Takis? We could get a bag and smash the shit out of them then toss some popcorn in the dust. Butter will make it stick right? Save Jimbo some postage. Maybe Helena can figure out how to make it even more gourmet. I bet someone on YouTube has figured this out and she can follow along with that.” It was silly but sometimes silly was nice. The past year wasn’t really that silly for Dinah and there was a lot of stuff she was keeping inside. She didn’t want to make her problems anyone else’s issue when they had their own shit going on. She was better as the one with the big heart and the big mouth than the one who needed the ear. She was gone long enough and she didn’t want to have to fight to regain her place in the Birds. It was weird enough as it was since she chose Star City over them after the Accords. They probably didn’t blame her, but maybe they did. Dinah would would rather make jokes and win her way back in than do it by causing problems. She could handle herself.

“Long-term job?” Dinah asked. “What are you doing? I bet Oracle’s busy.” It didn’t sound like Barbara to care about a work-life balance though. That wasn’t like her at all. Dinah didn’t think she saw Barbara take a break for herself that wasn’t related to work somehow in years. “What’s at you apartment that entices you more than your Babscave?” She wasn’t stupid. Something was up if Babs was acting so willing to try any kind of comfort over efficiency.

...

“I’m pretty sure Helena would rather die than contribute to my junk food habit in any form.” A little dramatic, to be certain, but Barbara could picture Helena’s fact at the proposal. “Finding Takis even on their own isn’t going to happen in town, I’m afraid; Dad’s been keeping me in supply. I think he secretly likes putting the packages together, if I’m being honest. He’s always sneaking little things inside, and I send care packages right back in return.” It had become something of a monthly routine, packing up a box to send to her childhood home. This was the longest Barbara had ever gone without seeing her father and she was still struggling with how best to process and cope with that. She missed him, but it was more than that; Barbara hated the mess that had been left behind for him to deal with when so many of the vigilantes that called Gotham home had left. “But buttery, Takis-covered popcorn sounds delicious.” Oracle was definitely busy, though that was par the course. Delegation had never been a strong suit of Barbara’s, and that certainly hadn’t changed during her time in Sokovia. She much preferred taking certain (well, most) things on herself, even if it meant her workload was insane. “Long-term,” she confirmed with a nod and another stab of her lunch. “Sort of long term, anyway. I’m working my way into the ISA’s servers, and all I really have to say on the matter is that they’re tech team certainly earn their paychecks.” Her mouth had turned down a bit into a frown, another stab of her fork a little more aggressive than the last. Barbara never shied away from a challenge and this would certainly be no exception, though Barbara was used to making more headway in shorter amounts of time. “Oh, y’know. Comfy couch. Snacks. My cat. An old friend who pops in from time to time.”

[oracleisonline-a]

The library of the Mousehole was something of a labyrinth, towering shelves filled carefully and methodically and painstakingly with volumes of books that were practically bursting at the ends with the sheer amount of books inside. So many shelves, set in a circular pattern throughout the library - and Oracle’s nest was at the center. It was a fitting set-up, really; Barbara had always felt at home in libraries, was at her happiest when surrounded by literal walls of books. The Doctorate of Library Sciences she’d earned at Gotham University might be sitting and collecting dust in the closet of her childhood bedroom back in Gotham, but there was no mistaking that Barbara Gordon and libraries simply went together. She’d set up shop in the library after arriving at the Mousehole, had made it something of Oracle’s office right in the damn middle of all of the shelves. Barbara had taken it upon herself to reorganize and restock the library, bring it up to her standards and maintain them (in all of her free time, of course, when she wasn’t overworked and exhausted)...which meant she was particular on how her books were treated and handled. “That is not where you took that book from.” There was a frown in her voice, and Barbara took a moment to squint over wire-rimmed glasses. “You’ll notice that there’s not a ‘put away’ shelf, and that’s because we’re all grown ups here.  One row down, three books in. Put it back where you found it.”

[oracleisonline-a]

helenahxnts​:

By their powers combined, they were probably going to create an absolute abomination. Still, Helena kept that thought to herself and hummed instead, still thumbing through the likely photos Babs had accepted. “Well, if it’ll thrill him,” Helena relented with a smile, then raised a brow at Barbara over the photos. “Supposed to not be teleporting and actually not teleporting are very different things, boss. Do you really think she hasn’t been stretching her wings?” She shrugged; flashed a smirk Barbara’s way when she turned a picture of Babs and Charlie with Jim, framing his smiling face with their flaming red hair. “Even your wrath couldn’t stop Charlie from visiting Jim. May as well take advantage of it.” 

...

“I’m not sure you’re going to want your name on this,” Barbara mused as she continued to sort through photos. There was a wide variety spread out across the surface of her desk, detailing decades of Barbara’s life through photographs and newspaper clippings that she intended to arrange on the premade scrapbooking pages in a way that at least showed she tried to make it look nice. “I’m concerned that my artistic talents haven’t progressed much past elementary school. This will fit right in next to the two-decade-old macaroni art he’s held onto.” But Barbara wanted to make an effort, always tried to make a big deal of her father’s birthday (especially now, when it was just the two of them - after the divorce, after JJ, after Sarah) and she hated that this would be the first one she wasn’t present for. A scrapbook sounded right up the secretly-soft Jim Gordon alley and it was a way to help bridge the physical distance between them. “Might be an embarrassment, but he’ll love it either way. Now are you cutting or are you glueing? I’ve already decided you’re doing the writing, we both know how my handwriting is.”

[oracleisonline-a]

blackcanaryrising​:

“I’m always hot,” she laughed. “So I’ll be happy to take a place of honor.” She texted the photo to Jim as she was told to with a heart and a kiss face emoji. He was in her phone as Big Jimbo which would probably not amuse him to his face but maybe privately. He had to have a sense of humor after seeing so much shit. 

Dinah’s stomach fluttered when Babs smiled at her. She used to get those a lot more often way back when. She kept them all fondly in her memory. And more than one song on the album she was working on at the time. She didn’t pine for the days when she fell asleep tangled up in Barbara but she would always keep them lovingly in her heart. “I better,” she teased Babs. “But all right all right. If you need someone to bring you some Takis or something I’ll take the responsibility.”

“Anything really good?” she asked. “What’s the Bat been up to lately? Anyone on secret missions? I’d kill for one of those.” She probably wouldn’t get one any time soon though now that Helena knew that she didn’t have her Cry and had hidden it.

...

Barbara rolled her eyes, sure that she would be hearing from her father soon that he’d received the photo from Dinah and that he was glad to see they were together. Jim had always had a fondness for Barbara’s friends, Dinah holding a particularly large place in the commissioner’s heart; in truth, Dinah was more like family at this point considering how long she and Barbara had been close.  “I will never say no to Takis,” Barbara said, pointing her fork towards her friend across the table before spearing another bite of her lunch. “Did you know there’s Takis popcorn now? I’m not above having it imported considering there’s no way in hell I’d be finding that in town. I can already hear my dad sighing about the state of my stomach lining as he stuffs them into the next care package I request.”  Barbara offered a slight shrug of the shoulders at Dinah’s next question. “You’ll need to ask him that yourself, I’m afraid, if you’re invested in the answer. Oracle might have eyes and ears everywhere, but there’s been something of a filter on lately to weed out the important information; I’ve been working on a pretty intensive long-term job, it’s been taking up a big majority of my time. Not to mention I’ve been working on something called a work-life balance, which is new. And by that I mean I’m working from my apartment rather than from inside the library.”

[oracleisonline-a]

beendeaddonethat​:

Ever-growing. As in, more and more heroes, or whatever, joining up with the whole… secret super-team? Even now? Still coming out of the woodwork, shit. Sokovia was only getting hotter, then. Jason filed that, and the fact - unspoken, maybe, but there, all the same - that he’d made Oracle’s team. In some kinda way, at least. He had a good, derisive snort at the thought of Beegee ordering whatever was left of the Justice League around, and a warm, silent smile as she swore to get him back. “Yeah, yeah. I know.” He did know. This was Babs. Babs had his back. Important distinction. Weren’t a lot of people he’d ever been able to say that about. Less, these days. 

For good reason. Reasons he was responsible for. He knew that, too. 

But he hadn’t hauled ass to Montenegro to dwell. That drive disappeared behind the re-installed security panel, no fresh scratch or dent or smear to be seen. If they’d had more time, he’d have rigged up a couple surprises; the nasty, lose a hand or more kind. Just to protect the getaway Babs had planned. The door hiss-chunked open as he turned the handle, and in he went. To what he might’ve called a killbox, if it wasn’t Babs on the line, listening. The next level was high, to make room for the belts and assembly stations. Meaning, forty feet over his head was a nest of piping and rail walkways, more stairs, and that loft office - all with a better line of sight than he could hope for, from here. But, thankfully: “Clear.” So far. Couldn’t check the closed portions: the office, some service corridors. At least he’d been able to check out the cover as he went, circling through the belts and bins, steps quick and quiet across the plant floor. Following the plan.

To the main staircase. And that service elevator they’d skipped - with the biometric access point. “Nice,” Jason muttered, taking a knee and emptying his other tac pocket for that second drive. “Just like you showed me,” he repeated, grinning, good to go, unrolling that break-in kit again. Seriously - not to jinx it, he’d never say this kinda crap out loud - but this? This’d been nothing, so far. He’d seen something, security-wise. They both had. Black Mask’s penthouse had more going on than this secret evil outpost. But, then again - Sionis was a paranoid sonofabitch, with more money than chill. An old school super-org of fascist shitheads might’ve slacked off, with time. Got complacent. And Jason had made a shitshow of Black Mask’s business the hard, messy way. Mostly on purpose. Without any help. 

“You’re in. Again. By the way.” He sealed that drive up, like the last, and left the way forward in Beegee’s crazy-capable hands. Bypassing software, harvesting database images. While he started another, slower turn around the ground level, eyeballing this and that. “So - is this what it’s like, getting shit done when Oracle’s taking point?” Laughing over his shoulder, the way she used to. Though, then, it was her shoulder she’d been laughing past; as she looked back, tearing through the night in her cape and cowl. Batgirl, always two steps and a leap ahead. “Cuz I’m down with it. You know, provided my probationary shift turns out alright. Competency wise.” Not that this dump was giving him much chance to demonstrate… 

...

“Then you should know that I already have a few ideas brewing. Always working ahead, Hood.” It was certainly a little strange, having Red Hood on the other line. It was less strange considering she knew the man behind the mask, had worked with Jason Todd before as Robin and as Red Hood back in her Batgirl days, even if this was Oracle’s debut mission with the internationally wanted mercenary. There was no mistaking that their methodology did not always line up, that Oracle had an extensive case file on the Red Hood (and that Barbara certainly sighed a heavy ‘goddamnit, Jason’ every time she added to it). Despite all of that, it was nostalgic to be working together again - she could damn near feel the Gotham breeze and see the city night lights in her mind’s eye. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the Hobbit marathon or the dinner party.” No, this would be a third item added to their to-do list that seemed to be growing rapidly, and Barbara would be happy to continue to add to it. It’d been a long time since Jason and Barbara had collectively had something to look forward to, together. The last time would’ve been in her Burnside apartment back in Gotham, after his return and before the Joker had come knocking at her door. A small, sweet spot of happy, warm memories that Barbara had found herself revisiting often over the years like an old favorite book - bittersweet, full of the almost and what-ifs that they’d never had a chance to actualize. Well, not until now, maybe. ‘Yep, got it.” The software had started on her end as soon as he’d properly connected the drive, and Barbara was quick to get to work. As predicted, the easy fix didn’t work and Barbara sighed out a “damnit” at the block. “This is going to take a minute,” she said as she began plan two, working towards harvesting a usable image from the database of the biometric scanner to use as a way to trip the lock, hopefully without triggering the false read and bringing any unpleasantness that would come with Hydra’s security measures. She was hesitant to admit that this was proving to be much easier than Barbara had anticipated, which had her concerned and feeling a little on edge. The warehouse was clearly abandoned, likely gutted of anything incriminating or important and that could explain the lack of push back....but Barbara knew better than to expect anything but the unexpected and to stay on her guard. No shortcuts, had to make sure she did this the right way to prevent hellfire from raiing down on them later. Work smarter, even if it meant harder. Barbara smiled a little to herself as she continued to work, pushing forward into the image database. Not much to choose from, this site had definitely been out of commission for some time, but she could make it work. “I’m sure my consistent field agents would love to tell you that I’m usually more bossy than this, and that would probably be an understatement.” She could almost hear Helena and Dinah now. “You also got the tech hook-up.” And she could hear Helena even more clearly in the instances when Barbara had told her to smash something open with a rock or whatever else was handy. “Had to make sure we weren’t going in completely unprepared into the snake den.” Not with Hydra, even if the warehouse was abandoned. “So provided you can deal with Oracle getting bossy in your ear then we can probably push this past probationary. I did give you a comm link for a reason. Always happy to breach security systems.”  That should do, and Barbara was ready to move forward. “Alright, I’ve got an image that should work. I’ve used this fix before with no problems, but this is Hydra-level so be prepared for it to not. If that’s the case, I’ll work on a security fix on this end but to be on the safe side...be prepared to high-tail it out of there. I can’t imagine it’d be fun to be on the wrong end of Hydra’s security.” Always be prepared for the worst, even if she was expecting the best. “It’s a retina scanner - I have the scanner tripped to use an image from its database, so just lean on in and it should read the image as you. No idea what’s on the other side of that door, the schematics were basic at best, so be prepared for anything.”

[oracleisonline-a]

grimfacedknight​:

“I could take it, if you allowed me to.” Her correction told him the precise parameters of that victory. Barbara’s proclivity for keeping him honest and humbled had not diminished over the years, evidently. He spoke with good humor to demonstrate his lack of resentment for her specificity. “Did anything else make it through your thick hide?” As thick as Jim Gordon’s.

Bruce could understand. In personality types such as theirs, it was the desire to control every outcome alongside the height of unmeetable expectations which prevented whole-hearted delegation. Even among the most competent members of this team, there were few to whom Bruce would delegate without some involvement of his own in the situation. He couldn’t chide her for his own failings reflected in her. “Which team members managed to break through your stubbornness?” He was curious if Barbara’s recommendations would match his own. If not, he might be willing to reevaluate. 

...

Thick hide hade her smile iching further upwards, spreading across her face. “A few other things may have,” she said with single-shoulderd-shrug, taking another drink from the coffee cup still in hand. “I think it could definitely be argued that I’ve taken influence from certain methodologies of yours. I’d probably argue back until I was blue in the face, but the point would still stand.” In truth, Barbara knew there were a number of similarities between herself and the man that had trained her. Some were flattering, msot were not, and she preferred to pretend that none of them were true. Back to business, and Barbara  sat up a little straighter, lightly drumming the fingers of her right hand on the surface of her desk and humming under her breath as she thought. “Captain Rogers, for certain,” she began, though that may not have come as a surprise. Barbara’s friendship with Steve had grown strong over the years, and she trusted him both inside and outside of the field. “I’ve worked with Black Widow and Hawkeye outside of the Nomads, prior to coming here. There’s no denying that Black Widow is competent and effective in what she does. Same can be said for Hawkeye, and personally speaking I’d prefer to work with him above Romanoff.” Though that was more of a personality clash than anything else; Natasha and Barbara’s unimpressed status with each other certainly hadn’t changed since their time working together for SHIELD. “The Winter Soldier. Well, the original iteration; the second has raised some concerns.”

[oracleisonline-a]

wondxrwoman​:

“Indeed, I am. I’ll be filing the report after I return to base, worry you not.” Diana raked her hair back with a grimace. They’d stopped a few hundred feet away from the blown-out bridge, which was, frankly, better than she had expected. And the train hadn’t crumpled in like a sardine can, which was even more important. 

Diana took a moment to listen to Oracle’s report, lingering at the dented front of the train while relieved, terrified voices began to fill the cool mountain air; coach doors were opening and people were beginning to spill out on unsteady feet. Diana bit her cheek, touching a hand to her comm. “Which agent?” she asked. “Captain Rogers? Or did you have someone else in mind?” 

...

“I wasn’t worried one bit, especially considering you’re already multitasking and speaking to me while in the field. Spoiler is the one who earns reprimands on the timeliness of her paperwork; I’m sure I’ll be reading yours in record time.” Barbara certainly hadn’t been about to remind Wonder Woman of the report she’d need to do within the next forty-eight or so hours. Stephanie was another matter entirely; Barbara was pained to be relieved that the Spoiler had yet to submit a report hand-written in glittery purple gel pen, and yet she was. “Not Captain Rogers, no. I’ve someone else in mind. A field agent outside of our current wheelhouse.” The Red Hood certainly wasn’t within the ranks of the Nomads, though Barbara trusted Jason’s skills in the field and felt as though he’d do well on this job. Not to mention he was currently crashing on her couch some nights, made him easy to track down. “I didn’t want to stretch us any thinner than we already are. Don’t worry, this person’s been vetted and I’m confident in my choice.”