SEVEN: The Impossible Is Possible

The first call wasn't what I expected, but I knew we had to act. "We need an extraction," Gar said urgently.

"Which one of you already had your cover blown?" I asked in concern.

"It's not me or Harley," he replied. "It's Cap."

"Captain Marvel? What happened?" I asked.

"His powers still work, Robin," Gar said as if that should explain everything.

"So what?"

"They can't be corrupted," Zatanna reminded me. "That means Lex doesn't actually have control over him."

"Was that Zee?" Gar asked in shock.

"Yeah. She's okay," I said. "We also acquired a drunk British magician."

"Constantine!" Harley cried in delight. "Now things should get interesting."

"Good guess, luv," Constantine replied.

"You're the only drunk British magician I know who wouldn't be phased by the apocalypse," Harley replied.

"Gar, has Lex figured out that Billy's not evil yet?" I asked.

"No, but Billy thinks he's close," Gar replied. "He approached me as Billy, so Apophis wouldn't notice him. He told me he's been keeping up the act and just telling Lex his powers aren't working. Lex doesn't know that if his powers fail, he turns back into a kid."

"We've got to get him out," I decided. "Captain Marvel's strong, but Billy's still just a kid."

Honestly, Billy was only a couple of years younger than me physically, but there was an innocence to him that I hadn't had since I lost my parents. It always made him seem about half my age.

"How do we get him out?" Kara asked.

"Meet us at the lair in two hours," Harley said. "I'll give you the coordinates."

*

Two hour later, we stood in the shadows outside of Lex Luthor's "secret" lair. It wasn't exactly hard to find. It was one of many buildings he'd owned before the end of the world, but he'd changed some things and built an underground world beneath the exterior building that made the Bat Cave look like a closet.

I took it all in as Gar let us in. "I don't know about this," Constantine said. "Maybe you lot should stay out of this and let me handle things. It feels like a trap."

"Billy isn't tricking us, John," Zatanna said. "His powers only work if the wielder has a pure heart. He must still be on our side."

"I don't doubt that, luv... I'm just worried that our shiny-headed foe knows exactly what we're up to."

"He didn't seem suspicious," Gar replied.

"Even if he's not, Apophis probably is," I said. "We still have to do this. I'm not leaving Billy here to fend for himself."

"I didn't say we should leave him," Constantine pointed out. "I'll take the risk to get him out."

"You're not sacrificing yourself, John," Zatanna said firmly. "We're in this together."

"They're kids, Zee... And I won't risk you."

"We're survivors, Constantine," I said. "And we'll survive this, too."

"Exactly," Kara agreed. "We stand a better chance together than apart."

"We're here. We have a mission. We will complete the mission and be done with it," Damian piped in.

"No going rogue on this one, Damian," I said firmly. "Stay with us."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, waving his hand dismissively.

I was seriously doubting my decision to bring him with us, but I knew he would have just followed us anyway.

We didn't get very far before we ran into trouble. Gas filled the hallway. "Get low!" Constantine shouted.

I dove to the ground, taking Kara and Damian with me. Gar shrank into the form of a rat and scurried away to maintain his cover. At least I knew he was safe. Constantine knocked Zatanna down. It didn't matter. The gas was everywhere.

"Stay away from them!" Kara shouted at someone I couldn't see as she stood up. I was coughing and struggling to breathe as I tried to help her. The gas didn't seem to affect Kara, but someone grabbed her by her neck and started to drag her away. She struggled, but she couldn't escape from his grasp.

"Kara!" I screamed. My coughing only got worse.

"Grayson, stop screaming! Hold your breath," Damian whispered in my ear. "And play dead."

It was too late for the eight-year-old's wise advice. I promptly blacked out.

*

When I came around, I was alone in a room with a lot of technology. I would have been pretty excited by the chance to play with such shiny new tech, but I couldn't move. I was tied to a bed, and I couldn't free myself.

"I am so not feeling the aster right now," I mumbled.

A voice cackled softly beside me. I was startled when a woman in a purple and gold masquerade mask and a matching hooded cloak stepped into view. She moved toward me slowly, her dead eyes staring at me as if she could see into my very soul.

"I assume you are Lex Luthor's Lady Tech Genius," I said. "I'm Robin."

"Don't you think you've outgrown the role of the faithful baby bird sidekick?" She asked. Her voice was sultry and seductive, yet almost familiar. It sounded wrong somehow, like I should know her but her voice had changed.

"What should I call you?" I asked instead of answering.

"Call me Overryde," she replied. She showed me the embroidered name written in gold cursive lettering on her cloak. As she leaned over me, I knew that she was definitely not a stranger.

I really looked at her, and something impossible occurred to me. It was too impossible for my mind to actually process. I stared at her in confusion, refusing to believe it.

"Barbara?" I whispered.

She laughed again, removing her hood and letting her long auburn hair fall free around her shoulders. "I was wondering when you'd catch on, Dick. You're supposed to be smart," Barbara Gordon replied.

"The tech... That's why it's so advanced. And that's why Batman's tech was able to be manipulated... Babs, how could you?" I asked.

"It's surprisingly easy to be a bad girl, Dick," she replied as she straddled my body, which was still very much strapped to the bed. She brought her upper body down, leaving her face extremely close to mine. "What's the matter? Don't you like me better this way?"

I stared at her cold, dead blue eyes in horror. This wasn't Batgirl, my friend, my family... This was a shell that was possessed by something evil... Yet I couldn't bring myself to hurt her.

"No, Barbara," I said with genuine grief. "I don't like you better this way at all."

She laughed humorlessly. "I don't believe that. Some part of you must be turned on by this new side of me."

"I'm just grateful you're still alive, Barbara. I'm not thinking about anything else." I shook my head. "You're my family, Batgirl. That means it's my job to save you. I love you, and I'm going to find a way to fix you."

She paused and replied, "I'm glad you're here, too, Dick..." She laughed before adding, "So I can be the one who kills you!"

She pulled a dagger out of thin air and brought it down toward my chest. First, she traced a thin line across my flesh, drawing enough blood to sting but do little harm. She proceeded to lick the blood clean with her tongue.

"That's not very sanitary, Babs," I said, hoping to see some sign that my friend was still in there.

"I don't mind getting a little bit dirty, baby bird," she taunted me in response. She cut me again, this time significantly deeper. I cried out in pain.

"Don't do this, Babs... Please," I begged her. "I love you. You're family. Don't make me hurt you."

"You can't, Dick. You're restrained physically, and even if you weren't, your emotions would restrain you just as well. You could never hurt your precious Batgirl."

"You're right," I replied, "but you're not Batgirl... You're Overryde... And I think it's pretty clear that they're not the same girl."

She raised the knife again and brought it toward my chest even faster. I was pretty sure this was how I was going to die, but someone interfered. As the swift, shadowy figure swooped in, I realized once again just how agile he was. He knocked Barbara... Or Overryde... unconscious before she ever saw him coming.

"Honestly, Grayson, what kind of a leader are you?" Damian demanded.

I sighed, because he was right. I'd let my guard down, and I'd nearly gotten myself killed. Damian untied me and studied my injuries.

"They're not fatal," he said, "but we'll need to patch the deeper one before we move you." He found a sheet, some rubbing alcohol, and some medical tape.

As he poured the alcohol over my chest, I cursed.

"Stop being a baby," he said in annoyance. He used the sheet to keep pressure on the gash. "Keep this steady," he said before looking around the room. I took over applying pressure.

Damian returned with a sewing kit. He began stitching my chest back together. It reminded me of the many times Alfred and Bruce had taken turns stitching me up. Damian had obviously done this before.

"Thanks," I said. "You're good at this."

"You'll live," he replied, ignoring the compliment. "I can't speak for the others. We should hurry up and find them."

"Yeah, Damian," I agreed as I worried about what sort of monsters my friends might have found themselves trapped with. "I think that's a really good idea."