Enter: Oracle

[newoutsiders]

Trouble at the docks again. Steph just phoned in. So much for Damian "settling things there once and for all." There was apparently an explosion. She can handle it, you tell yourself. You've got a lot more pressing things to worry about.

You take another sip of coffee as you trace some shelled bank accounts to Bialya. If you're right, there's a secret European war being funded by some major US corporations, and no one but 12 people on Earth even knows it's happening. You just need a little more-

You doze off for a quarter of a second before perking up. You've been awake for 50 hours now, and you haven't moved an inch. Since the Justice League took off and you took charge, things have been busier than they've ever been. But you can't stop. Everyone is counting on you.

Your main monitor blinks with the notification of an incoming video call. It's the League Watchtower.

Comments

[jlf_oracle]

Babs takes a minute to comb her fingers through her hair and brush the crumbs off her shirt. She's the face of the League right now, so she has to at least try to look the part.

[newoutsiders]

It's just as the call comes through that you remember you just show up on their screen as the green Oracle head, anyway. You really, really need some sleep. Just as soon as crime stops happening, everywhere in the world.

You see Dick, Dinah, and Wally all facing you. They look concerned. Red Tornado is in the background, apparently performing some calibrations. You know that John, Vixen, and Captain Atom are all on assignment. But-- shouldn't Dinah and Wally be too?

"Babs," Dick says, hesitatingly. He never calls you "Babs" on this channel. This could be bad. "We need to talk."

[jlf_oracle]

"Gee, that's not ominous at all," Babs replies. "Is this talk going to give me a headache?"

She really hopes Dick hasn't been mind-whammied by aliens or something. Keeping Gotham together is challenging enough when they're just facing run-of-the-mill psychopaths and crime bosses; Bruce's rule against metas is making more and more sense by the day.

[newoutsiders]

"Babs," Dinah says, her voice full of sympathy. "We really appreciate that you got this new League up and running. Thanks to you, we're back to keeping the world safe. But..."

Wally picks up: "We're not saying you can't handle it! It's just that Red Tornado has things pretty much covered here, and, well. Look: take it from a guy who tried to be a member of the League and the Titans and patrol Central and Keystone City, all at the same time: even with super speed, I was over-extending myself."

"Bruce always said protecting Gotham was a full time job," Dick says. "And you've been managing that all on your own. So, uh. We took a vote."

[jlf_oracle]

Right. Babs can see where this is going, and there's not enough coffee or Advil in the world for the tension headache she can feel forming.

"You took a vote," she echoes. "Without telling me, or asking what I want. Do I even need to ask what you all decided was best for me?"

[newoutsiders]

"We just... we think it would be better if you took a break for a while," Dinah says. "From the league, I mean. Gotham obviously still needs you. And it's not fair to anyone to break up your attention this much."

"JUSTICE LEAGUE MEMBER ORACLE HAS BEEN OPERATING AT 32% AVERAGE EFFICIENCY FOR OUR PREVIOUS SIX MISSION CYCLES," Red Tornado monotoned from the background. "RECOMMENDED ACTION: DECREASE RESPONSIBILITIES OF LEAGUE MEMBER ORACLE UNTIL EFFICIENCY CONTINUES TO PERFORM AT AVERAGE OR ABOVE AVERAGE LEVELS."

"Red!" Dick, Wally, and Dinah all shout at once.

"Sorry about that," Dick says. "But... he's not wrong. Listen. Last time Batman disappeared, I took up the cowl. I didn't want to, but I chose to protect Gotham, instead of leading a team. Now... maybe it's your turn."

[jlf_oracle]

"Got it," Babs says tightly. "Anything else I should know before Big Red revokes my access?"

She knows the League's protocols inside and out. She knows how they deal with threats to Red Tornado's beloved efficiency.

[newoutsiders]

"Just... understand we're doing this for you as much as anyone else," Dinah says. "Please. You've been, well, a little obsessed lately. And we're afraid you're starting to sound a lot like..."

"Don't, Dinah," Dick warns.

"Fine. That was out of line. But come on, Babs. We've been working together for years. I know when you're being pushed to your limits. Even you have them. Can't you trust me on this? Trust us?"

[jlf_oracle]

"Like you trusted me to talk to me about this before it was a fait accompli?" Babs says dryly. "If there's nothing operational, I have to go."

Besides, what does trust have to do with it anyway? They've left her to choose between complying or wasting time she doesn't have to hack the League's server.

[newoutsiders]

They do their best to exchange some tactful pleasantries, but the League eventually lets you go. In more ways than one. Muttering, you get back to tracking down this secret Bialyan war.

After hours of work, you suddenly realize after this call that all the data you have can be traced back to The Question.

Well. This was a huge waste of time. Maybe you do need some rest.

[jlf_oracle]

Babs drinks the last of her coffee and starts shutting down non-essential systems. Steph won't finish patrol for at least two more hours, so check-ins and emergency alerts have to stay active. But there's no need to have all the monitors blazing light into her eyeballs.

[newoutsiders]

The police scanner picks up something interesting-- that tanker Steph called about? Apparently Starfire is in town, and she's grabbing it by its rear axle on 41st and Broome.

[jlf_oracle]

Babs taps into the closest security camera and contemplates making popcorn.

[newoutsiders]

You watch as the tanker comes unhitched from the truck as it speeds off. The tank collides with the ground, and a bright, toxic looking orange liquid splashes everywhere- including over a cop, who looks like he's in serious pain.

[not_easy_being_green]

Babs is getting a call from Misfit's phone.

[jlf_oracle]

"This should be interesting," she mutters, and accepts the call. "Hey Charlie. It's been a while."

[not_easy_being_green]

"It's Green Arrow, actually - the second. There's, um... it might be easier to explain if you can just get video of Broome and 12th."

[jlf_oracle]

Babs wishes she had a comm line to Starfire, so she could direct her to a vigilante-friendly hospital. That cop needs treatment ASAP.

[jlf_oracle]

Crap. Babs brings up the camera feed, crossing her fingers and hoping Green Arrow doesn't get hit by the truck currently fleeing from Starfire.

"Heads up, GA: there's a toxic spill at Broome and 41st."

[not_easy_being_green]

"That's... kind of the least of my worries right now."

[newoutsiders]

You recall that you had Dick give you the Titans' contact info for just such an occasion. You were the heart of the Justice League for a time, after all. Er, however briefly.

(DM: Post in Starfire's thread to make contact with her.)

[newoutsiders]

From a nearby building's security camera, you see a smashed up truck resting in a heavy donut of tire marks. A bunch of parked cars have been completely totaled in the frey, and a fire extinguisher is bursting water into the sky. There are street lamps scattered everywhere. Outside the truck, you see some cops calling in a report, as well as Connor Hawke and- is that Charlie? Why is she dressed in a Batgirl costume?

[jlf_oracle]

"I can see that," Babs says, as calmly as she can manage. "Looks like you two have been busy."

She's not going to yell. She's not even going to think about Charlie dressing as Batgirl until they're on a more secure line.

[not_easy_being_green]

"There was- a man. Sal Handy. He went missing a few weeks ago and he was- there was something wrong with his body, like Plastic Man, only... sick. I think something's controlling him, but he ran, I couldn't stop him."

[jlf_oracle]

Babs shudders. "That sounds like nightmare fuel. Do me a favor and keep your partner there away from the cops."

She downloads recent footage from the security camera and runs it back until she sees it: Sal Handy oozing out of the truck and running off into the night like his legs are trying to escape from his body. She hasn't seen anything like it since the time she fell asleep in the middle of reading Clive Barker's Books of Blood.