The Way #283

"And why do you want to meet my daughter...?" Gordon asked with a frown. "You are not acquainted with her as far as I know..." He added, shaking his head.

"I have a job offer for Barbara..." I calmly replied, much to the former commissioner's confusion. "I know she's going through a rough patch, but I'm certain we can help each other..." I added, which didn't seem to impress him as he maintained a frown.

"I'll be sure to make my visit as brief as possible... I only need her to hear what I have to say..." I continued before Gordon could object. "Naturally, you're more than welcome to listen in and free to kick me out if you thought I was being a nuisance..." I concluded with a shrug.

"I suppose it wouldn't do any harm..." Gordon said after a slight pause as he contemplated my words. "But I'm warning you... my daughter has been through a lot..." He added, his tone turning grave.

"If you upset her in any way, you'll have to answer to me..." He concluded with a harsh glare.

"I assure you, I have no intention of upsetting her or making a nuisance of myself in any way..." I replied, my tone sincere. "Please, lead the way," I concluded, to which he nodded and opened the door wide.

"Follow me..." Gordon said with a nod as he turned around and headed into the house, and I obliged without hesitation. "Pardon the mess. I was rather busy since we moved in here..." He added with a sigh as we passed through the messy living room with many unpacked boxes on our way toward Barbara's room.

"As you can imagine, we couldn't stay in our former home, for Barbara's sake..." He concluded in a heavy tone as he spoke, to which I didn't reply and merely followed in silence.

Though I did feel sorry for what happened, it was not my place to comfort the former commissioner, and nothing I said would help or make the situation magically better, so I kept my mouth shut.

The world of DC comics had no shortage of geniuses, but I chose Barbara Gordon because I thought I could help her as much as she'd help me, considering her current condition.

After creating Richard's new arm, fixing Barbara's back would be a walk in the park in comparison, as I'd raised my medical skill to a sufficient level and had the knowledge and technology to make her walk again, and that was the plan.

"Here we are... wait a moment..." Gordon said as we stopped in front of a wooden door. "Barbara, may I come in? There's someone here to see you..." He added as he knocked on the door and paused, waiting for a reply.

"Come in..." Came Barbara's voice from inside, much livelier than I had anticipated after Gordon warned me not to upset her, but that's neither here nor there.

The former commissioner opened the door and entered, gesturing for me to follow suit. I went inside and was surprised to find Barbara's room tidier and more organized than the rest of the house and the redhead sitting on her desk in a wheelchair, fiddling with a laptop.

"You're Grayson, right...?" Barbara said as she saw me walk in through the door. "Selina and Jason... they told me you saved my life. I wanted to find and thank you for a while now, but..." She added with a bitter chuckle, her tone faltering as she mentioned the recently deceased Robin.

"You're welcome..." I replied with a nod as I sat after Gordon gestured for the couch. "It's good that Selina and Jason called me when she did. I wouldn't have been able to help otherwise..." I added, downplaying my credit.

I was here to offer Barbara a job that I needed her to do. I didn't want to make her feel obliged to accept the offer to pay me back or something along those lines.

If Barbara was to run my company, I needed to be sure she did it because she wanted to. Nothing good would come from coercing or soliciting people into positions they want to be in, regardless of circumstances.

Besides, Barbara would do a better job handling the company's affairs if she accepted the offer without me having to guilt-trip her into doing the job.

"And I'll always be grateful for them..." Barbara said. "But I'm sure you didn't come here just for me to thank you... do you need something from me...?" She asked, tilting her head.

"I'm here to offer you a job," I said, getting straight to the point, much to the daughter and father pair's confusion. "As you may know, I have created a company, which is already expanding beyond my ability to manage it alone..." I added as I scratched my head.

"I need someone to run the day-to-day operations in my stead..." I added, trailing off at the end of my sentence. "And I couldn't think of anyone more qualified than you for that responsibility," I concluded.

"Me...?" Barbara remarked, tilting her head in confusion. "I was just a librarian before the accident, and I can barely care for myself now..." She bitterly added, shaking her head.

"I'm aware of your former job as a librarian, but I'm also aware of your high level of intelligence and photographic memory," I said, my tone firm as I spoke. "I have faith that you will get the hang of running the company sooner rather than later with a bit of guidance," I confidently added.

"As for the state of your injured spine... I have the means to mend it, but I don't think it will pose a problem..." I said and quickly continued before the father and daughter duo could interject. "As I told Jason that day... there's always a way, granted you know where to look..." I continued.

"Of course, I'm willing to help you regain the ability to walk regardless of whether you accept the offer or don't," I decisively added in a tone that brokered no argument. "You don't have to be obliged or forced to accept," I concluded, staying quiet as I waited for the redhead to process my words.

"Can you really heal my spine...? Make me walk again...?" Barbara said after a brief pause, sounding both skeptical and hopeful as she looked me straight in the eye.

"Heal isn't the word I'd use since I'll have to use machines to replace the damaged parts of your spine..." I replied, shaking my head. "But yes, I can most definitely give you back the ability to stand on your own, walk, and sprint even," I continued with a shrug as I took out a USB stick from my inventory.

"I have recently created a prosthetic limb for my teacher who lost his biological arm..." I said as I stood up and offered the USB stick to Barbara. "Using the same technology to fix your spine would not be too complicated. In fact, I can do it right now if you wish," I added, smiling as I watched the redhead take it from my hand.

"The USB stick has a basic demonstration of the prosthetic and the technology I used to create it," I concluded as I headed back to the couch and sat down while Barbara plugged the USB stick into her personal laptop.

"It's... It's incredible..." Barbara said as she watched a short video that showcased the Neuro-Link technology I used in Richard's arm and read through simple descriptions of the other components inside the prosthetic.

"Still, This is all too much..." Barbara said with an exasperated sigh as she closed the laptop. "Can I have some time to think about your offer...?" She asked after another brief pause, much to my surprise.

"Of course..." I replied with a nod as I gathered my bearing. "Feel free to contact me whenever you make up your mind or wish to ask a question," I added as I stood up, retrieving a piece of paper and a card from my inventory.

"This is a contract with the terms of your employment in my company, and this is my card," I continued as I placed them on the table. "Now I'll leave you to it..." I concluded as I turned to Gordon, who merely nodded as he stood up and headed for the room exit, gesturing for me to follow.