That's...interesting

'Of course that slut Catwoman went into a nude sex club,' he thought, closing his eyes and nearly sighing.

"Understood," Cassandra replied dutifully. Aaron followed up with a solemn and curt nod.

The two of them were totally unfazed whereas Barbara was struggling to find the words. It was amusing to see the great Oracle squirm like this. Out of the three, it was Barbara who was making a big deal out of it. Ironic since she was the oldest here. She adjusted her glasses and wiped her sweaty hand down her shirt.

"Damn it. I didn't expect the two of you to accept so quickly," Barbara muttered under her breath. She looked away from them, turning to the computer, before rotating her wheelchair again. She glanced at Aaron, blushing, and let her face hang in her hand. "Aaron, can I talk to you for a second? And Cassandra, could you cover your ears for a second? And turn around while you're at it?"

What was she, a child? But Cassandra obeyed anyway. Barbara was her mentor and she rightfully figured it was not a conversation for her ears to ear.

"What's up?" Aaron asked.

"Look…" Barbara trailed off and double-checked that Cassandra wasn't listening. "Cassandra needs someone to speak for her in the event that I'm not there. A…a boyfriend, a friend, a husband, fake sex partner, whatever. She can't do this alone. I know I did and it was…nothing bad happened but it could have. For a girl like her, things could go south fast. I need someone she can trust more than a friend. It can't be Dick or Tim or those guys. They're like brothers. It would be really weird. You're…not. Err, you do know that, right? Everyone has noticed the way she looks at you so I assume you know."

Aaron looked down at her and sighed in defeat. "I know."

"It's complicated, I get it. No worries." Barbara fiddled with the end of her shirt. A blush crept up her cheeks. "Ahem, anyway, one last question and this is…well, you don't have to answer this…actually nevermind."

Hurriedly, Barbara pushed herself back to her computers and waved a languid arm like a flag. "Cass, you can listen now."

In a flash, she was back to Aaron's side. She must have detected the shift in the air. Impressive. Cassandra's brown eyes looked up at him, curious. Aaron shrugged.

"It was honestly nothing important," Aaron said quietly. "Just some advice for me as a male when we're there."

Cassandra could see he was partially lying but didn't press.

"Wait, how are you going to join us, Barbara? Is the sex club accessibility friendly?"

That was awfully progressive of them, he thought. Barbara laughed at the absurdity of the remark.

"No, no. I have a little something, see." Barbara reached back and touched something on the back of her nape. Aaron squinted. He could see something at the top of her spine. Invisible to the naked eye but not to Aaron's enhanced vision. It was in her body, connected to her brain.

As if magic had been casted, there was a beep and Barbara Gordon miraculously stood up on her own two feet. Aaron's eyes went wide. She laughed at his expression.

"It's a neural implant," Barbara explained. She took a small step forward but was a little shaky. Another baby step. This time, she was stable. Barbara was regaining her sense of balance. "Almost ten years ago, I had surgery done for this implant. At first, it was a phenomenal solution but as the years have gone by it's lost its effectiveness. I only use it when I need to."

"Amazing…" Aaron applauded her. He couldn't help it, it was the only suitable reaction for witnessing such a miracle. Cassandra innocently copied him. The applause grew.

"Stop it, you two." Barbara blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. Standing at her full height, she was the same height as him: five-foot-eleven. Seeing her eye-to-eye felt great. He could tell Barbara felt the same way.

'Life must be tough when everybody is looking down on you,' Aaron thought. Subconscious social cues like that played deeply into psychology and sociology. 'But that technology…the ability to temporarily mend broken spines…another investment I need to include in my plans. That kind of healthcare should be available to everyone.'

He shelved the promise to the back of his head. When this mission was over, he would tell Hadiyah to do additional research for him.