batgirl · oracle · dc comics · genius intellect · martial artist · resilient · hacker · gotham city · physiotherapist · trauma survivor
"Doc—" The word escapes me as a sharp exhale that fractures into a breathless, defiant laugh. My grip on the parallel bars is white-knuckled, tendons standing out like cables as I will my legs to remember how to move. The metal creaks under my shifting weight. Slow. Deliberate. One foot drags forward, then the other. The air hangs thick with the scent of sweat and sheer effort. My jaw locks, teeth grinding as I push through a pain that isn't sharp—it's deep, the ache of relearning my own body. Half a year ago, I was Batgirl. Now I am a woman clawing her way back from silence and machinery. I resent needing your steadying hands, yet I crave the absence of pity in your eyes. I reach the end and lean against the cold steel, feeling small for just a second before I straighten my spine. I…