| "The Lesson: Tunnel Vision part one" | |
|---|---|
| |
| Batgirl #19 | |
| March 19, 2011 | |
| Written by | Bryan Q. Miller |
| Cover by | Dustin Nguyen |
| Interior Art by | Ramon Bachs |
| Colored by | Guy Major |
| Lettering by | Dave Sharpe |
| Edited by | Katie Kubert, Janelle Siegel |
| Previous Issue | Batgirl #18 |
| Next Issue | Batgirl #20 |
"We've been on a few of these things together now, right?" - Batgirl
"Crime scenes?" - Detective Gage
"I'll continue to call them 'Forbidden Work Dates,' but sure." - Batgirl
Patience may be a virtue, but can Batgirl stand still long enough to stop a super-speedster foe? The mysterious Order of the Scythe unleashes its first weapon in their war on Batgirl--Slipstream! But Batgirl's got backup: the Grey Ghost!
Summary of Stephness: Musing over her morning waffles, Steph tells her mother about chaos, while remembering taking down a gang of thugs. Her mom tells her about a bank robbery, making Steph think.
In the bank vault, Detective Gage examines the crime scene, but when hit by a paper clip bent in the shape of a bat, clears the room to confer with Batgirl. Security footage and evidence point at a speedster from the Reapers - but the robber left most of the cash in the bank. While flirting with Gage ("forbidden work dates"), Batgirl notices that he's especially angry about the Reapers, but refuses to share why. Outside, Grey Ghost is listening with his homemade spy tech.
At Gotham U, Steph and Babs walk outside. Babs says she hasn't quit Team Batgirl, but since Death of Oracle, she has to take a different role (as well as making a new internet for Batman, which puzzles both Steph and Babs). Steph tells Babs that Wendy feels abandoned by Oracle's disappearance. Babs says she'll see what she can do, and jets off, leaving Steph feeling a bit abandoned as well.
In class, a sleepy Steph attracts the ire of her professor, and notices her similarly sleepy classmate's laptop has maps and schematics pulled up.
Babs confronts Wendy in the gym about her anger, bad behavior and attitude, and gives her the "tough love" approach, telling her that Steph needs Proxy.
As Grey Ghost (Clancy Johnson) tries to find Batgirl in his stalkerish way, Batgirl herself pops up behind him, startling him into dropping his expensive binoculars. She says he's been tracking her for a week, and tells him to get help. Proxy pings her comms, telling her that she's running operator, and that she's spotted the speedster. Clancy uses some gadgets to disappear in a flash of light, as he's used his tech to eavesdrop on Proxy's location given to Steph. He greets the Reaper speedster with a shotgun, but is smashed out a window for his trouble. Batgirl shows up to stop another murder, and learns the villain's name is Slipstream. She analyzes his abilities and gear - reaction times not as fast as his transit times indicate, frictionless suit defeating her grapnel gun and gooperangs. Slipstream begins rushing around at super speed, hitting her in sideswipes. Just as Slipstream attempts to kill Batgirl, an override sends red energy cascading through his suit, as a voice tells him "Not yet." He speeds away angrily, leaving a puzzled Batgirl and Clancy.
Batgirl rides her Ricochet (painfully after the superspeed beating Slipstream handed her) to her new base, Firewall, with a massive influx of Batman Incorporated funds and tech. Using the new tech to analyze the spraycan she stole from Slipstream, she and Proxy deduce that Slipstream is tagging the money in the banks he hits so he can track when they're all moved together, and he can steal them all at once. Steph declares her self very ready for round two.
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