SEL Chapter 44

“You can’t say that I didn’t warn you, Ms. Gordon.” Lucius gazes down at Barbara.

Barbara lies in bed in her hospital room. The hallway outside is full of cops. It’s been a whole day since the attack, but the GCPD still doesn’t know who sent the assassins. The attack on Jim Gordon implies that Barbara was the target, yet Deadshot had been shooting at Summer and Viti. Everyone is puzzled, and the GCPD is being cautious.

Barbara frowns as she looks through her medical file, wincing as she sees things like “Shattered pelvis”.

“I know. I didn’t feel like I had a choice,” she says.

“I really don’t know how we’re going to get you back on your feet without cybernetic legs or an exoskeleton or something,” Lucius says. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. This isn’t your fault.”

Barbara further injured her back with the sudden, venom-fueled exertion with atrophied muscles and vertebrae that weren’t ready for it. Worse, Deadshot’s bullet devastated her internally, and bone fragments had done enough damage that the doctors had given her the Seed cure just to simplify her anatomy in the hopes of putting her back together. Someone had leaked that, and a story about her getting her dick shot off had made the rounds right away.

It has not been a pleasant twenty-four hours. Barbara is in extraordinary pain despite the morphine.

“Lucius.”

“Yes?”

“Lucius, you need to make sure that my father has a good nurse.”

“What? He does.”

“No, it’s his hands. He can’t use his hands. That makes life really hard. Like, for dignity. You have to make sure he has the best.”

“This is you,” Lucius says, holding up an X-ray. “And you’re worried about him?”

“What does he have left, Lucius? Not even his dignity. Please.”

“Of course. Are you ready to talk about the campaign?”

“What campaign? I’m in pieces and Viti’s going to say that I faked everything. We can prove that I didn’t, but not in time to matter. We tried.” She stares at the ceiling. “We tried, Lucius. It’s OK.”

“That’s the thing, Barbara. Viti’s campaign is not taking that approach.”

“They better get on it quick.”

“All the same, we need a statement. I’m going to let your campaign manager come up.”

“You’re being serious? Just let me die.”

“Think of your father.”

Barbara groans like a teenager. “You’d make a good mayor.”

“Gotham’s ready for a black mayor. But not a black mayor who’s friends with Poison Ivy. She’s worried about you, you know.”

“Does she know that I don’t have a dick anymore? Because that was the part of me she liked best.”

“That’s oversharing, Barbara.”

“I am wasted on morphine. It would be awesome if everything didn’t still hurt.”

“You can get another penis if you like. Who did this?”

“Oswald Cobblepot. It looks like he wasn’t able to get Viti in his pocket. I’m sure he and Aki did some scheming, but I guess they couldn’t get along. And I’m not sure Viti was ever in on the joke.”

“Viti’s only statement has been one of gratitude toward you.”

Barbara sighs. “Anything from Summer? Is she OK?”

“She’s back on the air tonight.”

“Oh. Thank goodness. I was so scared, Lucius.”

“You? Scared?”

“What I could do was so limited. I felt helpless.”

“You saved them both. You couldn’t have done it better if you’d been on your feet to begin with.”

Barbara grimaces. “Lucius, if I’d been on my feet, none of that would have happened. Steph is not at the level that I need her to be at.”

“You know who you sound like? I thought you were supposed to be focusing on daytime business.”

Barbara makes a face at him. “Tell the people of Gotham that I’m on **** for me.”

“I will. Dick Grayson is here to see you, too,” Lucius adds.

“Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” Barbara perks up. “Send him in. Beat it, Lucius. And don’t tell him that I got shot in my lady parts.”

Lucius pretends to zip his lips, then points at the file. Barbara hurriedly closes it.