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Batgirl Begins (dbspock/WendyTheRed)

She smiled when he mentioned she probably wouldn't have trouble getting her dad to get custody. She could sense his slight hesitation and knew he was probably a bit unsure if her dad was one of the good ones or not. She wondered if he'd check up on her dad or simply take her word for it. She didn't have any worries, assuming he didn't have enemies that were messing with his record or something. She nodded when he theorized where the email was sent from. For a lot of people she was sure that would be true but her stepdad wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch and was also lazy. She figured he'd just send it from her mother's computer. Truthfully, she was surprised he'd even thought to use a gmail account and not his own email.

After Agent Logan left she sat at her desk and quickly typed up the two versions of the armor request for R&D. In one of them, she requested a copy of the armor Bruce Wayne had previously checked out but in her sizes, complete with the various accessories he'd checked out and requested over time. In the other she wrote up what she thought would be good. Form fitting, ease of movement with armor on vulnerable and important areas. A belt to carry various tools and supplies. On both of them she added a request for a voice changer and for a pair of batons with the side handle similar to how police batons were made with electrified ends that could function as stun batons.

When she was finished she printed the requests out on Wayne Enterprises stationary, making sure to leave a space for Bruce to sign and date the forms. She also grabbed the manilla envelope with Chloe's information and delivered all three documents to Bruce's office, putting them on his desk. Returning to her own office she sat in her chair and pulled over the package that Lucius had dropped off. Opening it up she skimmed through it to see if it had any paperwork she needed to fill out. If it didn't, she'd focus on things like expected procedures she should follow and things like that.
 
there was indeed a LOT of paperwork Bab's needed to fill out. her W2 form, emergency contacts, bank routing information, health insurance preferences, home address, phone number, nondisclosure agreements, and the like. And the employment manual was about half an inch think, so it was little wonder Babs was fully occupied until Bruce returned. Oddly enough, he appeared out of his office and not the lobby. Had he been in his office the entire time, and Babs just 'missed' him? Had she been so engrossed in her paperwork that he'd walked by and she hadn't noticed? Or was there another way into his office? Bruce's impassive face didn't reveal any close as he laid the second of her request forms on her desk, the one that didn't include any references to his suit, complete with his signature and date. But he didn't reference that either.

"Well, glad to see the FBI didn't arrest you." he smiled down at her. "And I glanced at Chloe's resume. You can tell her she has an interview tomorrow at 0900 for a position with our R&D department. They've been asking for a coffee girl. And you can also tell her if she wears the bikini I got her, that would give her an edge against the other applicants."
 
Most of the information was easy for her to fill out. When it came to emergency contacts however she paused after putting her dad down on the form. After a moment of thought she put Chloe down and resolved to tell Chloe she could put her and her dad down on the form when she got hired. She was a good way through the employment manual when Bruce appeared out of his office. Many would have simply assumed they were too engrossed and missed his arrival but not Barbara. She remembered her thoughts about him having a panic room that likely had his 'other' supplies in it. Why wouldn't it also have a private elevator? She decided that she'd have to snoop later. She smiled when he laid the filled out form in front of her, even as she was disappointed it was the second one.

She smirked, of course he'd found out about the FBI visit. "It would seem my stepdad, who is one of the reasons I fled to Gotham, put in an anonymous report that I'd been kidnapped and brought to Gotham. I made it clear I came here not only of my own will but without the help or knowledge of my dad. Including giving them the bus routes I took. It would appear, I may have to make use of the Wayne Enterprises legal services after all to get custody officially transferred to my dad. Or just emancipate myself. That occured to me too."

She arched an eyebrow at the coffee girl job and the bikini crack. "I'll tell her she has an interview in R&D tomorrow. I assume Rick already knows? I'll ask him where she should show up when I drop this form off."
 
"Well, good to know I'm not harboring a fugitive. I guess I skipped a step offering you the job before your background check." Bruce chuckled. The background check permission form was, of course, one of the many documents in the pack for Babs to fill out. He got a serious expression on his face when she mentioned emancipation, though. "That might be hard to pull off. It sounds like your mother, at least, would fight it in court, and I'm sure your father's political adversaries would love to use the fact he abandoned you against them. Not to mention you'd have to be living on your own, and your first paycheck won't be THAT big." Having been emancipated himself, Bruce knew a bit about the subject. He'd been rich, had a mansion to stay in, and a team of lawyers, and it still hadn't been easy for him to pull off. "But if legal gives you any problems with helping your dad file for legal custody, just let me know."

He raised an eyebrow as Bab's ignored his bikini and coffee girl crack, and made an assumption about the interview. "I said she was interviewing FOR a position with R&D, not that the interview was with R&D." He reminded Babs. "I haven't told Rick yet, because I don't want to get his hopes up if this doesn't work out. If she follows the dress code, just have her show up in my office."
 
She grinned at his fugitive crack and wondered if the irony that technically he was a fugitive occurred to him. She listened as he explained the issues with emancipation and nodded though her face hardened. "He didn't abandon me. My mother took me away." She looked away. "Sorry, I just...don't want people to think my dad turned his back on me. How ironic is it she took me from a good man like him and then exposed me to a, well, a pervert like my step dad?" She shook her head. "But I hear you. Thank you for that advice Mister Wayne. It was just a passing thought anyway."

She saw that raised eyebrow and barely kept the smirk off of her face. "Right. Your office. 9am. Bikini. Got it Mister Wayne. Should I go ahead and take this form down to R&D now or was there anything else you'd like me to do first?" She lifted her phone and texted Chloe. 'Your interview is at 9am. IT's for a position with R&D. Mister Wayne's office. If you check in at security I can come down and get you.'
 
Bruce shook his head. "I wasn't saying he abandoned you...I'm saying that's what you'd have to tell the judge if that's the way you wanted to go." He nodded as she revealed that wasn't actually her plan after all. He wasn't sure if he'd changed her mind or not...all that really mattered was that she wouldn't hurt her father's career now. He needed all the ally's he could get. He winced when she talked about her step-dad, but it seemed there was nothing he could do about it...or was there?

Bruce nodded as Babs expressed her understanding after he repeated the details. he then shook his head. "No...not unless some urgent message came in for me while we were away." He told her, then assuming there wasn't he turned to head back into his office.

😁 😁 😁 (y)(y)(y):love::love::love::giggle::giggle:😆😆😄😄😃😃😀😀😀 Chloe was so excited she couldn't put together a coherent sentence, but just responded with every happy face emoji she could find.

A man in coveralls and with grease stains on his face then lightly rapped on her door frame. "Miss Gordon? I've been over just about every inch of that elevator, and I can't find a blasted thing wrong with it."
 
She looked at Bruce and nodded. "I know you weren't. Sorry, I am...defensive of my dad. He's a good man. A good cop. And that's rare in Gotham I think." She smiled. "You're a good man too even if you like to pretend you're not." She shook her head. "No, no messages for you that I've seen. Nothing urgent." She paused. "Well, Daisy called and asked when your date was but I told her..." She started giggling. "I'm sorry. I couldn't even finish that sentence and tease you like that."

She grinned and sent a quick reply to Chloe. "Breath girl. Also, I'll be driving us to Sam's for practice tonight."

She looked up from her phone when the man rapped on her door frame. "Hmmm? The elevator? Oh. Yes. I heard it got stuck earlier or something. I'm sure it was just one of those intermittent glitches that electronics sometimes have. I know you did your best. I'll let you know if it comes up again." She stood up and grabbed the piece of paper off of her desk to deliver to R&D. If the man seemed to be done she'd smile at him then make her way to the elevator to head down to the R&D section. She was excited to visit and even more excited at the idea of Chloe working there. It occurred to her, that this might give her an 'in' in R&D as time passed and she wondered if Bruce Wayne was arranging that on purpose.
 
"I think you are right. That's why I keep requesting him to run my security. Anyone else, I'd have to hire private security to keep an eye on the police." Bruce claimed, then his eyes widened when she called him a good man. "Well, if you could convince Alfred of that, there's a bonus in it for you." He promised, then his eyes practically bugged out when she mentioned a call from Daisy. His excitement quickly turned into a frown when she admitted she was teasing him. "Not funny." he claimed, and by way of retaliation he reached out and messed up her hair.

If Chloe saw the response, she was too busy trying to follow Bab's advice to breathe to respond right away. Either that, or she was tearing apart her new wardrobe, trying dresses on, trying to figure out what to wear tot he most important interview of her life.

"Yeah..." The man said uncertainly. He was of the same opinion as Babs, but when Lucius Fox complained Bruce Wayne's private elevator wasn't working. 'I don't know' was not an acceptable response. He awkwardly returned the young woman's smile, then followed her into the elevator. With his luck, it would probably break with Bruce Wayne's personal secretary onboard. That would be all he needed.
 
She smiled as Bruce praised her dad. Considering who she thought Bruce Wayne really was, that made her prouder than she cared to admit. She wondered if her dad had figured out Bruce Wayne's other identity but had decided not to ask or talk about it since if he didn't know he wouldn't have to follow up on the GCPD's arrest warrant for Batman. "Mister Wayne, I haven't known you or Alfred for very long. But I know one thing. If Alfred thought you weren't a good person he'd have turned in his resignation years ago. He's a good man and he's loyal to you. That alone tells me all I need to know about you." She grumbled when he mussed her hair and like any woman would she quickly set about fixing it while glaring at him.

She heard the doubt in the man's voice and felt guilty since the elevator was never broken in the first place. She'd simply hacked it. She looked at him as they stepped in and she pressed the button for the floor R&D was on. "If it would make you feel better I'm willing to tell Mister Fox that you fixed the elevator to my satisfaction and Mister Wayne's satisfaction. Or your direct supervisor if you'd prefer. I would be surprised if this elevator acts up again and if it does, I am positive it won't be your fault."

Assuming nothing happened during their ride she would exit on the floor R&D was on and make her way to that area of the business. She was quite happy to discover that her badge did indeed let her in though it'd have been silly for Bruce to tell her to deliver this request if it wouldn't. She made her way through the area, searching for Rick's office. If she saw someone in the area she'd ask them where his office was, otherwise she'd find it on her own.
 
"Oh, Alfred resigns on a regular basis." Bruce told her. "I think he'd carry through with it, except he's afraid I'll forget about the donation to the GCPD widows and orphans fund. He probably figures working for me is a small sacrifice in a worthy cause." If Bruce noticed her glare after he mussed her hair up, he gave no sign of it, but continued to smile at her innocently.

The worried look on his face quickly turned to a smile as the young woman (was she a teenager even? He found it hard to believe someone that young would have the position she seemed to...maybe she just aged well) offered the perfect solution. "That would be great." He told her. It was certainly better than riding around in the elevator all day, or returning to his boss and admitting he'd failed. He took a small electronic pad out of his tool case and after punching a few buttons presented it to her. "If you'd just sing the work order, I'll give ti to my boss. No need to bother the big shots over something like this."

R&D wasn't hard to find, the to the department was clearly labeled, and right under that someone had painted what seemed to be the R&D slogan: 'Innovate, integrate, inspire'

R&D was down in the basement and covered multiple levels, and Babs would soon see why as she wandered around. Bruce clearly took R&D seriously and there were three state of the art laboratories, a room full of #-D printers and laser cutters, and a couple garage work areas. Motorcycles, and actual tank, a helicopter, and even a satellite were present, each in various stages of disassembly. Libraries and computer labs were consolidated on one floor, along with an open concept bullpen area, and there was an office with Rick's name on it, but the clean state of the desk and lack of anything in the office seemed to indicate it was rarely used. The conference room next door had many more indicators of use, primarily all the fast food containers and discarded coffee cups in the trash...at least R&D cleaned up after themselves. The whiteboard on the wall...for such a high tech facility, in some ways they favored the old fashioned approach...was covered with diagrams and formulas, as well as a drawing of Charlie Brown. Someone in R&D was an artist and had a sense of humor, it seemed. There was also a coffee bar, it seemed Bruce hadn't been kidding about Chloe possibly being a coffee girl, but there was no one behind the counter...instead a pair of robot arms mixed the beverage, and placed it on what looked almost like a skateboard, which went humming off down the hall to make its delivery. Babs also discovered a lounge area, where there seemed to be a war between Star Trek and Star Wars, half the room dedicated to each. Star Trek seemed to be winning, as that was what was currently being played on the large screen TV, but the only person in the room wasn't paying attention, he was fast asleep in a bean bag chair. Next door to that were series of pods, that if Babs examined them she woudl discover they were isolation tanks, three of which were occupied.

There were a few people about, but most were too intent on their work to notice the stranger in their midst, and those that did notice her figured if her badge worked on the doors, she was supposed to be there so no one interacted with Babs until she was about to round a corner.

"LOOK OUT!" A voice yelled, then a body slammed into Babs, knocking her to the floor if she wasn't careful. Even if he didn't take her to the floor, he at least prevented her from entering the hallway, and it soon became clear why as a small black box, about a foot square, came zooming down the hall and slammed into the wall, making a hole in the drywall.

"Warning...obstacle." A robotic voice emanated from the box, stating the obvious, as it backed away from the wall and began to rotate, searching for a clear path.

"SHUT IT DOWN!" The man yelled.

"I cut power, but it's still going. I didn't think the auxiliary power was online yet, but I guess it...fixed itself. it's not acknowledging the shut off command either." A man in his mid thirties reported as he dashed down the hall, clearly following the thing, as he punched futilely at an electronic pad he was carrying.

"Damn." The man who had tackled Babs swore softly as the thing picked a new direction...right at them. The man glanced at Babs. "We won't be able to outrun it. Think you can jump it?" he asked as the robot began to come at them.
 
She nodded to the man and gladly signed for the work order. After all, she knew herself the elevator was just fine. "Gladly. Though it occurs to me your boss might not know who I am. I just started today. But if he has questions he can confirm with Mister Wayne." She smiled warmly at the man and let the ride finish in a comfortable silence if he had nothing else to add.

Barbara was awed by R&D as she walked around, her wide eyes taking it all in. The room of 3d printers drew her attention and seeing how automated it was, a few ideas ran through her head. The garage also drew her attention and she found herself oddly drawn to the motorcycles as she thought about how something fast and maneuverable might come in handy in her new chosen role in the city. It was only by sheer force of wheel that she didn't spend the rest of the day in the library and computer lab area. It almost caused her physical pain to keep walking from them.

She sighed when she found Rick's nearly disused office but she also approved. She'd had the feeling he was a hands on kind of guy and this proved her theory correct. She also briefly paused to skim over the white boards. She was well ahead in math for her age, her entire school life having consisted of AP and honors classes but some of it was still too complicated for her. She made a mental note to rectify that when she got to college, which, she realized, could be as soon as this fall if she didn't go to high school with Chloe and just used her credits to graduate early.

She grinned at the Star Wars vs Star Trek theme. She herself loved both franchises though she yearned for the utopian ideal of a world like Star Trek's even if she cynically was pretty sure it would never happen. She was fascinated by the isolation tanks and resolved to ask about them at some point. Her 'tour' mostly done she soon found herself in the midst of an experiment gone badly awry. Barbara very nearly reacted on instinct when Rick slammed into her but she quickly realized it wasn't an attack.

She managed to keep her feet and made no attempt to enter the hallway as the drone or whatever it was sped past. She looked at the man as he spoke and nodded. When the drone approached she acted purely on instinct. She'd need height to get over it so she leapt at the nearby wall and springboarded off of it, twisting in mid air to spin over it once more thanking herself for her past in gymnastics. She was so busy avoiding the drone that it didn't occur to her that her move probably flashed her panties to everyone, though the hose she had on helped make it not so bad. When she landed she'd sprint towards the man in the hallway and if he didn't react she'd snatch the control unit from him, looking it over quickly to see if she could use it to hack the robot or drone or whatever it was and shut it down. Assuming it was possible she'd quickly begin working on that as a way to stop the thing's rampage.
 
"Hey...you've got a nice fancy desk on the top floor. Your signature is good enough for me." The man said with a smile. He'd heard rumors the big guy had a new sidepiece, and part of him had been afraid she'd be a total bitch, but she seemed nice enough and had gotten him out of a tight jam, so she was aces in his book. He made a metal note to prioritize any requests that came from her. Given her apparent position in the company, he didn't think he'd catch any flack for the favoritism.

'Did I just grab her ass?' Rick wondered as he separated himself from...whoever she was. He hadn't thought his hand went anywhere inappropriate, but given how short her dress was, he realized it was a possibility his hand had slipped under it. Oh, well...can't worry about that now. He let out a small sigh of relief when she indicated she could jump, someone getting crushed by the newest robot would not look good on his resume when he applied for a new job. His eyes widened in surprise when instead of just leaping over it like he expected, she bounced off the wall instead. He hadn't seen that coming...but unfortunately for her the machine had. It reached out with a grabber arm to try and stop her, but it only managed to snatch a bit of her dress instead. So while she completed the leap, her skirt did not, and Rick not only got a nice view of her panties as she did her acrobatic jump, the view didn't end as she landed. Thankfully she distracted the machine enough that he had no problem doing his own leap and came to stand next to her, trying to ignore the fact her skirt, seemingly undamaged at least, was currently traveling down the hall.

"HEY!" The man hadn't expected anyone to snatch the control unit away from him, so he didn't react until after the deed was done. "Give me that!" The man protested as he reached out to snatch it back, commencing a sort of tug of war if Bab's didn't surrender the control pad back.

Rick ignored the interplay as he seemed to go into a sort of trance, then he snapped to attention and quickly pressed a control on the wall. A siren began to go off, and Babs could hear the distinctive sounds of metal doors slamming in place. "All right...it's locked in here with us." Rick said, not bothering to break down the good and bad aspects of that. "Tommy...go get the EMP gun." He ordered, well aware if the control pad worked, the robot would have been shut down already, so that wasn't an option. But neither was shutting down the entire building. Thankfully he had another option.

"Miss..." He realized he had no idea what the red heads name was, but time to worry about that later as the machine ran into another drywall...and this time barged right through. "We need to lure it into the shielded area off of lab three so we can disable it with a EMP pulse without damaging any other equipment. Will you help?"
 
Things were happening so fast she momentarily hadn't realized her skirt was gone. She'd felt the tug but she was utterly focused at the moment. She relinquished the controller with a sigh and shook her head then turned her gaze to Rick as he seemed to leap into action. An EMP gun? She could think of a lot of uses for such a piece of tech and this was most definitely a good time to use it. She listened to his request, her mind racing ahead.

She nodded. "You need me to be the bait? I don't mind, you'll just need to tell me where to go. And it's Gordon. Barbara Gordon. I'm Mister Wayne's new assistant. I was bringing a request for new equipment from R&D for Rick when I seem to have gotten wrapped up in this escapade." She waved the request form at him which she'd miraculously kept intact and in her hand though it was wrinkled now. "So, let me know what you need and I'll be glad to help out." It was at that moment that she finally noticed her legs felt cool and she looked down, her eyes widening and her cheeks going dark crimson when she saw she was skirtless. Her mind replayed events and she instantly realized when it had happened. She'd even seen the robot have something in one of its claws but she'd assumed it was just a random piece of cloth in the moment.
 
"Bitch." The word was soft enough he might not have even said it, but there was no mistaking the glare he gave Babs as he got his controller back...for all the good it would do him. His gaze transferred to Rick as his boss issued the order, and by the look on Tommy's face he wanted to object, but clearly knew better as he went down the hall.

Rick nodded as she asked her role in his plan. "Hello, Miss Gordon." This was a damn weird time for introductions, ands he was so focused on the crises he didn't return the introduction. If he noticed her blush or missing skirt, he gave no sign of that either. He did, however, wince as she revealed her role in the company. He'd almost killed Wayne's new assistant. Great. "I'll take a look at it later." He promised when she waved the form at him. No time to worry about it now.

"Can you whistle?" He asked, then shook his head. "Never mind...you won't get the pitch right." His eyes widened as he saw the hole in the wall, or more accurately the copper tubing that was now exposed. He stepped forward and pulled a small piece loose. He quickly pitched off one end, then took a pocket knife out of his pocket and cut a small notch in it before he handed her the impromptu whistle. "It'll be attracted to this." He warned her. "We need to get it into the isolation lab. It's fifty feet down the first hall on your left. Can't miss it, it has a massive lead door. Anyway, get the machine in the room with you...I'll be right behind it with the EMP. I won't let it hurt you...promise."
 
She arched an eyebrow as the man called her a bitch but on the inside she smirked. She wondered how he'd react when he learned her role in the company. He'd probably worry she'd retaliate against him but luckily for him she simply wasn't that petty. She saw how the man wanted to object to Rick's orders and she wondered if this was a personal project of his. It'd certainly explain his hostility.

She nodded when he said he'd look at the form and for the first time, she wondered if this was Rick. She quickly looked him over, hoping to see an ID lanyard or something but she didn't spend long looking for it under the circumstances. She was about to reply to his question about whistling then watched as he made an impromptu flute or perhaps kazoo. She was curious how he knew this would get the pitch right but decided it wasn't worth debating. It'd either work or it wouldn't.

"I'm not worried about it hurting me. If it does, it does. It's more likely that if things get more desperate I'll end up having to stop it by force rather than letting it hurt me. But that will only be a last resort. I hope my badge works on the isolation rooms door." She started jogging in the direction he told her, calling back. "See you soon!" She made her way down the hall in the direction he said and as he'd hinted the isolation room door was quite obvious. She kept her eyes and ears peeled for any sign of the robot as she made her way to the door and depending on if she was able to open it or if it was already opened, she'd make her way in. She positioned herself in the center of the room to give herself as much maneuvering room as possible, setting the request form on the floor nearby to prevent any damage to it, and then lifted the improvised musical instrument to her lips and began to blow.
 
Rick did have a lanyard on with an access card like Babs, but it had clearly been through the washer, and perhaps a few other devices, and the picture and name had long been scraped off.

Rick frowned at her cavalier attitude about getting hurt...the robot was small, but heavy, and even though the redhead...Miss Gordon...was taller than usual, he had little doubt the machine would crush her. He also doubted her using force against the armored beast would help...that had been his first try, and clearly it went nowhere. But thankfully she didn't argue, or seem to notice she lost her skirt, and Rick got a nice view of her backside as she jogged down the hall.

Babs badge did indeed work on the isolation room door...for the most part. Perhaps the isolation protocol Rick enacted didn't work quite right, or maybe the door was just overdue for some maintenance, but there was barely a gap for her to enter. Chloe might have squeezed through without an issue, but Babs was a bit more well endowed, and a few of her buttons didn't quite make it.

The room was not that large, and a table took up a great deal of space, so there wasn't much maneuvering room to be had. The whistle didn't seem to do anything at first, but the robot clearly heard something as Babs soon heard it rumbling down the hall. It bumped into the door of the isolation room, but it had the same issue Babs did with not being able to fit. Unlike Babs, the metal robot couldn't squeeze, so it pulled back for a moment, processing the situation, before it simply reached out with a grabber arm (Bab's skirt seemed to have been dropped somewhere) and pushed the door open wide enough for it to enter. Thankfully it slowed the machine enough to give Babs a chance to react, rather than just barging into the room and smashing her into the wall.
 
She saw his frown and knew what he was probably thinking. Perhaps she was being a bit too arrogant in thinking she could handle it. She was used to being able to think her way through situations but she was surrounded by presumably quite intelligent people who had probably already tried a lot. She resolved to do her best to not let it be put to the test.

When the door only partially opened she sighed. She quickly took her phone out of her little sling purse and turned it off, then slid the purse into a corner of the hallway before squeezing through. She growled when the door popped some of her buttons and actually paused to track them down and slide them into her the plastic holder that also contained her badge, unable to think of another convenient way to store them.

She looked around the room and frowned at how crowded it was. She moved to the table and stood on it, assuming a stance that would let her move in almost any direction. Her eyes went to the thick door and an idea occurred to her. After she blew on the musical instrument she waited patiently, gently rocking from foot to foot. When the robot came she thought, at first, that she might not have to worry about it at all until it did the obvious and simply pushed the door open wider.

When the door swung open and the robot began to enter she began to run forward, trying to time her movements for when the robot was fully inside the room. She'd attempt to leap over it and if she was successful, her next move would be an attempt to slam the isolation room door behind her. If that didn't work, she could maneuver in the hallway or even back in the room if necessary.
 
This time, Babs had no issues jumping over the robot. The greater height of the table, as well as the robots slower speed helping her time the jump, worked in her favor. Plus there was no wind resistance from her skirt, though her shirt did get pulled open a bit more. So she easily landed behind the robot, and unless she blew the whistle and tried to attract its attention again for some reason, it had no reason to pay attention to her and stated to explore the room...a process that wouldn't take long, unfortunately. But it did give Babs a small window to work with.

While the robot had no issues forcing the door open, Babs wasn't as lucky getting it closed, and the door stubbornly refused to move. Also unluckily for Babs, Rick hadn't been expecting her to step out into the hallway again, and barreled right into her as he charged down the hallway. Bab's might have been able to maintain her feet, and if she did Rick would reflexively grab hold of her arms to maintain his own balance, or they might both go down in a tangle of arms and legs...and what was clearly the EMP weapon, which looked like something out of Star Trek, that Rick lost his grip on so it went clattering across the floor, landing next to Bab's purse even as the robot slowly began to turn and head back for the exit, it's computer brain satisfied there was nothing of interest in the room.
 
She was quite pleased when she jumped over it and even more pleased when it didn't tear more of her clothing off. She had no intentions of attracting its attention and even tried to land as softly and quietly as possible to lessen the odds of it noticing her. Things were going well until she discovered she couldn't get the door closed which was unfortunate as it would have given her a substantial breather. Worse, Rick slammed into her from behind and made her stumble.

If she had seen him coming she probably could have braced herself or simply dodged but Rick had a flair for appearing out of nowhere and so to the floor she went with him. She did have one advantage over him though. Several actually. The first being that she was young and had training in gymnastics. The second being she'd just had training on how to deal with being on the ground with someone. She obviously didn't view him as an opponent but it caused her to react instinctively and disentangle herself a bit quicker than she might have even a couple of days ago.

Her eyes tracked the EMP weapon and she got loose from Rick and did a shoulder roll that Captain Kirk would have been proud of, grabbing the weapon and coming up in a crouch. She very briefly studied it and assuming it was essentially a gun she'd point it and fire it at the robot. If it was something else, say a grenade of sorts, she'd do her best to arm it and throw it at the robot. In either case, she acted quickly before the robot charged again.
 
It was unclear if the robot had any interest in her at all, or if she had just happened to be in the way when the thing was going wherever it was going. In either event, either through her precautions or the machine's indifference, it paid her no mind when she landed behind it, but continued its exploration of the room. The bad part was, it wasn't that big a room, so the machine soon completed its exploration, determined there was nothing there of interest and no other way out, so it turned and rumbled towards the still open door.

Where did she come from? And where are my hands? Rick thought as he ran almost full force into Bab's as she suddenly exited the room again. He was quite aware of the fact she'd lost her skirt during their initial encounter with the machine, but was it his imagination or was there something wrong with her shirt now as well? And his hands, which should have been occupied with the EMP device, were now free, and he froze with horror as he realized one was between her legs.

Before he could even think of how to rectify the situation...he usually had no issues coming up with solutions on the fly, but this one had him stumped for a bit...she seemed to twist her body in such a way that he wound up on his back, while she was free to run again. Rick rolled over onto his hands and knees again, reaching out for the EMP, but it wasn't where he'd seen it fall. he glanced around desperately for the device, and quickly spotted it, in the red heads...what had she said her name was...Barbara?...hands. And she handled the weapon almost like a pro. He'd tried to make the interface intuitive, and it seemed he'd succeeded as she aimed the weapon and fired. There was no visible or audible effect, no ray came out of the gun, and the robot didn't erupt into flames or even let out a puff of smoke, it simply stopped moving. "Have a nice day." It said robotically as it settled to the floor.

Rick rose to his feet, his eyes still fixed on Babs until he realized her shirt was torn open, and he was looking at her pretty much in her underwear, and he quickly diverted his gaze. "Well...welcome to R&D, Miss Gordon." he said with a light chuckle.
 
It was only after she pulled away from Rick and used the EMP device on the robot that her brain caught up and realized two things simultaneously. As she turned to face him she remembered the vague feel of his hand between her legs and she could tell by his reaction that he saw her opened shirt around the time she remembered its condition. She blushed and futilely tugged it closed, holding it with her left hand.

"Thank you. I must admit, this is the most excitement I've had so far today. First day on the job." She looked down at her shirt and sighed. "And these are new clothes and the buttons are already torn off." She tapped the lanyard where it hung. "At least I tucked them in here. Hopefully we can find my skirt." She looked back up at him and retrieved her purse, tugging out the somewhat crumpled request she'd brought and tucked into her purse before putting it in the corner.

"This is for you, presuming you are, indeed, Rick. I hope it's possible in the short deadline we have." She figured giving him this might help them both, she held out the sheet in one hand and the EMP device in the other. "How many times can this EMP weapon fire? And how effective would it be on, say, a vehicle?"
 
"Well, the most exciting thing that's happened to me as well." Rick agreed, then flushed as he realized just how she might take his words, considering her state of undress. It was just as well he hadn't made the connection to her father yet, or he would have feared being locked up for what he had done to his daughter, namely tackling her twice. At least her missing clothes weren't his fault. Not entirely, at least. That was NOT the robots designed function. "And I'll send some people out to search for your skirt. It couldn't have gone far." He tried to find the middle ground between being polite and paying attention to her as they talked, and not trying to stare at her undressed state, but as she bent over and picked up her purse, displaying her panty clad ass to not only him, but the half dozen men who had just run into the hallway in pursuit of the runaway robot, he gave up and just focused on directing the recovery efforts of the robot, not noticing how Tommy, who'd she snatched the control unit from, was the only one who made no effort not to stare at her.

He did feel the need to turn back to her when she addressed him directly. "I am indeed Rick." He said with a grin as he held out his hand for her to shake, a grim which immediately faltered as he realized the conundrum he faced her with, namely either shaking his hand and letting her shirt fall open again, or being rude and ignoring it. he quickly began shrugging out of his jacket. She was so tall, it probably wouldn't cover her butt as much as either of them would have liked, but at least it would help hide her cleavage.

He exchanged his coat for her request form, then frowned as he looked at it. "Day after tomorrow? What's the rush?" he asked with a frown, then seemed to become aware of the large crowd of men and her half dressed state. "Let's talk about it in my office." He suggested, then winced as he realized he was implying he wanted her alone. He blinked at her questions, his mind not quite up with the conversation yet.
 
She didn't think anything of his comment under the circumstances until he blushed which made her realize the potential awkward interpretation of what he said and her own cheeks flushed along with his. She nodded her thanks when he mentioned sending people to find her skirt. "Thank you. I may be Bruce Wayne's personal assistant but I doubt that gives me permission to walk around half dressed. I don't suppose you have any sewing supplies down here? I need to reattach these buttons..." She said it mostly in jest as she had no expectations of someone popping up with a needle and thread.

She somehow managed to trade him the form, give his hand a quick shake and shrug into the jacket. In the process she showed way more cleavage than she would have liked though she saw a few men glance her way so she knew they'd enjoyed the brief show. She zipped or buttoned up the jacket and shot him a grateful smile as she saw him looking over the form.

His question was reasonable and she wondered how much she could say. But then she remembered R&D would be working with whatever it was she was bringing in. She saw the wince and couldn't help a smile, the man was falling all over himself to not make her think he was a perv. It was kind of endearing and she felt into step with him, seeing the blink at her questions and guessing he was a little overloaded. As they walked she talked quietly to him. Not whispering but also not making it easy to eavesdrop.

"The armor and weapons are for the person driving your delivery in two days. So, she'll need them then. The voice modulator is to maintain her privacy if you're curious. The face and head coverings are a mix of practicality and privacy protection as well. The goggles with the various vision modes serve the same dual functions. I asked about the EMP device for the same reason. It occurs to me that if something goes wrong on the trip an EMP device is a nice non-lethal way to disable other vehicles. Does it go out in a radius around the device or is it a beam as it seems to be?"
 
"Wait...what?" Rick blinked at the young woman...was she actually a teen? She could certainly pass for one...casually revealed she was the personal assistant of the owner of the company. The man who could shut down his whole division with a swipe of the pen, I tackled Bruce Wayne's assistant...twice. Rick realized as his face went pale. He refused to acknowledge where his hands had inadvertently gone when that happened. His eyes lit up a bit when she mentioned sewing supplies. As usual, when he had a problem to solve, he managed to avoid being distracted. No matter how enticing the distraction might be. "I think we can help you out with that." He promised her as he made an abrupt about face, even though they were almost at his office, and headed back the way they had come. That meant they had to go through the crowd again, but at least Gordon had zipped up his leather jacket and didn't present as much of a view. At least as long as she didn't try and bend over again.

He nodded at her distraction, not noticing Tommy even go as far as to flip off the red head after she walked by. His eyes were fixed on the form, but just when Babs thought he might walk into a wall, he turned and headed down the stairs, all without looking where he was going. "The weapons and voice changer won't be a problem. We got that kind of stuff in stock." He assured her, not questioning why she might want it as it didn't relate to the problem at hand. "The armor could be a problem..." He frowned for a moment. "Wait...did you say she? That could be a bigger problem...unless it happens to be Sara. We have her armor in stock still...she hasn't picked it up yet. Goggles shouldn't be a problem, they are easily adjusted. We have a few sizes of masks in stock as well, so that should be doable." He blinked as she mentioned asking about the EMP device, he didn't recall that at all. But it didn't really mater as she seemed to repeat the questions.

"It goes out in a beam, a bit like a shotgun. And it would disable a modern vehicle, sure, but the classics without a computer module, not so much. I'm also not sure it's a good idea to deploy it, as you'd have to be very careful of what's behind the target, out to about a quarter mile." rick was clearly comfortable talking about the technical aspects of things, and he visibly relaxed a bit as he led her through a door on a lower level. "I'm sure there's a needle and thread here somewhere." He told her as he gestured at the fabrication room. Indeed, there were layers of fabric stacked along the walls, a half dozen sewing machines in the middle of the floor, along with closets lining the wall, and the one that was open Babs could see an array of suits, and a few pairs of shoes.
 
She heard his tone and saw his face go pale. She could imagine what he was thinking and wanted to reassure him but she, much like him, quickly got distracted when he mentioned they had a way to fix her shirt. She quickly hurried after him and flushed slightly as they went through the crowd. She saw the man flip her the bird and arched an eyebrow. Just to be a bitch as they walked past him she spoke in a casual voice. "I look forward to reporting back to Mister Wayne about this visit to R&D. Since he personally sent me down to make the request on that form, I'm sure he'll be curious how my trip went." She was a bit ashamed of herself for doing it but Tommy was being an ass and she decided that just once it might not be a bad idea to throw her weight around.

Once they were in the stairwell she let a grin curl her lips. Hopefully Tommy had overheard her and was now sweating bullets. She had no intention of making his life Hell even if he was acting like a turd. But he didn't know that and maybe it'd make him reconsider how he acted towards people. She nodded excitedly when he mentioned that the weapons and voice changer were in stock. She frowned when he said the armor might be a problem. She was really hoping the armor might form the basis for her own costume when she eventually put her plans into action. When he asked if it was Sara she tapped the sheet over the listing for the size requirements. "Sara Lance is not 5'11." She said, by way of explanation.

She nodded at his caution about the EMP device. She glanced around the room when they entered and raised her eyebrows. "I have to admit, I'm curious why you have suits and shoes down here. Anyway, I'm not exactly an expert sewer, but I'd sure love to get these buttons reattached." She glanced at him. "So, here's the deal. You know what the delivery is I'm sure. So you know there might be...interference during the delivery. I asked about the EMP because it'd be an easy way to disable enemy vehicles without killing anyone."

"Since you're familiar with the R&D projects here, perhaps you remember the, well, the heavily armored vehicle that vaguely resembles a humvee. It will be used for the delivery. In the vehicle will be a government agent, Sara Lance, Captain Jim Gordon and the unidentified female driver who this armor will be for." She paused as she moved towards one of the sewing machines. "Any tips about that vehicle? Qualities it might have that would come in useful in this situation?"
 
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