Disclaimer: If I owned them, would the show have been cancelled? I don't think so! :Sighs heavily: Ok, ok. I do not own any of the characters contained herein. This is a fanfiction. It's sole purpose is to make people happy. Ok, and also to silence the muse that's been screaming in my head since I saw "Lady Shiva".
A/N: As you may have noticed above, this fic will contain spoilers for at least "Lady Shiva", although I make tiny references to both Hawke episodes. Basically, you need to have seen the show to have any clue what I'm talking about here. I'd like to thank my betas, Tammy and Arlene, for catching my little grammar boo-boos; you guys are great!
A/N 2: Please, please don't forget to review; I really love this show, I'm incredibly pissed that it was cancelled, and I want to do right by the characters and the fans. Constructive criticism is appreciated; any flames will be used to make Smores! :Ooooh, chocolate!:
Redemption
Night lay over the city of New Gotham like a thick cloak, broken only by the twinkling of lights from various office buildings and apartments. A casual observer might have thought the vista a peaceful one, but this was not so. Darkness in New Gotham was a haven, a shelter for the large criminal element that preyed on the weak and helpless. But night also provided shelter to the hope of New Gotham, in their struggle to protect the city.
In a high clocktower that overlooked the troubled city, a young woman who embodied part of that hope was seeking to find respite from her troubles in sleep. But Barbara Gordon would find no peace in her dreams, as the ghosts of her past reached out to her. . . . .
"Apology not accepted," Lady Shiva spat, falling into a battle stance. Batgirl did the same, whipping out her escrima sticks. She managed to block Shiva's opening blow, and moved straight into the blow to Shiva's head that should have disabled her. But the other woman had gotten too good; she had obviously kept up with the training that Barbara had been forced to stop when Batgirl died. Shiva blocked the blow, and delivered one of her own that sent Batgirl to the ground. The neural response device overloaded and shut down, shattering the illusion of her old life and leaving Barbara gasping in pain.
"Get up!" Shiva demanded.
Barbara shook her head, hating to show weakness in front of her enemy but having no choice. "I can't," she whispered sadly.
A second later, she was unmasked; Shiva seemed to hesitate briefly as her face came into view. "You're Batgirl?" she asked.
"No," Barbara forced the word out, admitting the harsh truth to herself as well as to Shiva. "Not anymore."
Shiva's hesitation was gone, and she moved in, fist raised for the killing blow. Barbara wished briefly that she had let Helena help her as the girl had asked. But there would be no Huntress to save her now, as Shiva moved in for the kill –
"No!" Barbara wrenched herself out of the nightmare with a cry, and the shadows of her mind resolved themselves into the familiar contours of her bedroom. She shook her head, trying to dispel the lingering images, her heart pounding.
"Barbara?" The pounding was at her door as well; she must have woken Dinah. "Barbara, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Dinah," Barbara called, trying to force calm into her voice. "It was just a bad dream. Go back to sleep."
She could almost see the reluctance on the younger girl's face, but soft footsteps indicated that Dinah had gone back to her room. Barbara lay back down with a sigh; it was very late, but she knew that she wouldn't get any more sleep that night. Feelings surged through her, mostly guilt, as she remembered her fight with Lady Shiva and the resulting death of Shiva's sister. "When will you stop haunting me, Shiva?" she whispered, staring blankly at the ceiling. There was no answer, though; there never was.
Ok, so go review; but remember about the flames!
:lareina smiles and walks off, muttering to herself about graham crackers and marshmallows: