Oracle

Oracle is some rumored supreme hacker (or group of hackers), said to be associated with heroes and a bane to criminals. No one seems to know Oracle's face, male or female, or anything about him/her/it/them. He/She/It/They are rumored to have shut down the entire internet once during a war with Apokolips. The rumor on the net is if you need information or help, put it in some secure system and Oracle will find it. Oracle is also supposedly leader of the Birds of Prey and was running the JLA for a while before the world mergers, but I mean, that's just a conspiracy theory, right?

Barbara Gordon is the adopted daughter (and blood-relative niece) of Commissioner James Gordon. She is a librarian and research assistant. She's also one of the youngest graduates of Gotham State University. When she was 19, the Joker came to her house to kidnap Commissioner Gordon, shot and paralyzed her so she would be confined to a wheel chair. During this time, her unconscious, shot body was also photographed in sexually exploitive and degrading positions in order to psychologically torture her father. She also has a law degree from Harvard and has passed the bar in multiple states. She has been confined to a wheelchair since the shooting, but is apparently -extremely- well off financially through investments. She's still very close to her father and most of the Gotham City Police Department.

Background
Barbara Gordon is the daughter of Roger and Thelma Gordon in Ohio. When Barbara was 13, her mother and father were killed in an automobile accident (her father was DUI). Her uncle, then-Captain James Gordon, adopted the orphaned Barbara. Barbara became infatuated with Gotham's famous... or perhaps infamous... masked vigilante - the Batman. One evening, she snuck into her father's private home office to discover him engaged in a secret conversation with Batman. This only served to increase her fascination with the Dark Knight. The following morning, Barbara insisted that her adoptive father enroll her in martial arts classes, which Captain Gordon allowed. Barbara earned her black belt within a surprisingly short amount of time. In addition to athletics and martial prowess, Barbara also was a dedicated student in academia. Her photographic memory allowed her to excel in school and graduate high school at 16. She also earned a full scholarship to Gotham State U and graduated before she could even vote. Barbara also learned Jujitsu under a sensei named Dragoncat, and got a job working as a librarian and research assistant for the Gotham Public Library. She actually wanted to become a police officer like her father, but she was refused for, of all things, not meeting the height requirement. She was similarly not allowed to enroll in the FBI for equally insignificant reasons.

When the GCPD hosted the Million Dollar Masquerade, Barbara attended in a female version of Batman's costume. When she arrived, she discovered that Killer Moth were raiding the party to rob its invitees and was holding millionaire Bruce Wayne as a hostage. She tackled Killer Moth in the hopes of rescuing Bruce Wayne, whom she had no idea was actually Batman. Batman allowed the charade so that he could change into his cowled persona and wound up having to save Barbara, criticizing Barbara's attempts to be a hero. It didnt dissuade her from her new calling, though. She tried even harder. Batman wound up enabling her by sending her batarangs and cables which would stretch a little so Barbara wouldnt tear her arms off while swinging from building to building. Dick Greyson delivered the items to her, basically letting her know that he was Robin. Eventually, Batgirl was accepted by Batman into the 'Bat Family.'

After years of being Batgirl, Barbara started acting as Batgirl less and less. When the Joker showed up at her house, he shot and paralyzed her when he kidnapped her Uncle Jim. Essentially, it wasnt she was Batgirl that she was shot - it was because she was Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon. At just 19 years old, her career as Batgirl was truly over. She renewed her dedication to being a superhero, though. Even though she could not be Batgirl anymore, she devoted all her time to developing one of the world's most complex and powerful computer systems and set to work accumulating information, renaming herself "Oracle." With her eiditic memory, she read dozens of the world's top newspapers and magazines daily. She also constantly gathers information from other, less public sources, such as the CIA's mainframe, not to mention the data networks of the FBI, NSA, Interpol, Luthor's mainframes and Wayne's mainframes (all without their knowledge or consent). She also studied under Richard Dragon, who himself was at that time confined to a wheelchair, to learn Dragon Style Kung Fu custom-designed for being in a wheelchair. She also became an expert in escrima stick fighting, taking advantage of the practice's use of upper body strength.

Oracle has proven an absolutely invaluable resource to the Batman and his allies, as well as countless other superheroes, few of whom know anything about the person behind the name. In some circles, she's merely known as "O." As founder of the Birds of Prey, she employs many different superheroes as agents. Her first agent was Power Girl. There was a problem on an early case which resulted in some deaths, though - Power Girl blamed Oracle for the mess-up and stopped being part of the Birds of Prey, though she still helps Oracle occasionally. Barbara then joined forces with Black Canary. The two - similar in both having lost their original abilities while fighting crime, yet managing to overcome their handicaps - would later meet in person and become best friends. Next, the Huntress joined the team as a full-time agent, followed by Lady Blackhawk. These four women are the heart of the Birds of Prey.

Barbara's informational resources were not simply computer-based. She has a plethora of human operatives around the planet as well in strategic areas to surreptitiously feed her information. In addition, Barbara also employed various teenagers to be her eyes and ears on the street. One of these young agents is Cassandra Cain - whom Barbara then discovered was actually one of the world's top martial artists. When Cassandra takes up the Batgirl mantle, Barbara essentially becomes Cassandra's mentor - one of the few people Cassandra Cain truly looks up to. During War Games, Batman, who is battling the Black Mask, usurps Oracle's computers, resulting in the destruction of the Clock Tower. Barbara also discovered Spoiler's body and was responsible for letting Batman know so they could get her to a hospital. During this time, Barbara spent most of her time coordinating for the Justice League - becoming so invaluable that she was essentially running the Watchtower and JLA operations until she rebuilt the Birds of Prey Headquarters (though she never actually stopped running the Birds of Prey during this time - multitasking is a hacker's strength). There was a bit of a schism between Batman and Barbara during this time, but she still considered 'part of the Family.' There was one major change since War Games - Barbara has long since left the idea of simply being a Batman resource, and has since become the 'one to contact' for all things informational.' More than once, she's been called to run operations for the Justice League's Watchtower. She's rebuilt the Birds of Prey Headquarters into one of the most impervious lairs on the planet - even Martian Manhunter has been unable to get in without setting off the security and capture protocols. The only one who ever managed to bypass them has been a metahuman named Misfit - who wound up being caught by Barbara herself.

During her time as Oracle on New Earth, there has yet to be a single computer that she has not been able to hack into and ferret out information from. She has access to every satellite in orbit (whether governmental, private, or military... and even a few alien ones). She's hacked into the Pentagon, the United Nations, virtually every high level corporation (including LexCorp, Kord Industries, Wayne Enterprises, Queen Industries and STAR Labs). She's hacked Cadmus. Belle Reve. Arkham Asylum. She's hacked into the Bat-Computer. She's even hacked Darkseid's Apokoliptian Tech and Brainiac's tech (before cyberpathy). She's shown she can easily wipe all the computer databases of ultra-top secret government institutions like that of the Suicide Squad and Cadmus if she wanted to. Essentially, she's out-Brainiac'ed Brainiac. Her methods can be brute force if necessary, but given her training, they actually tend to be more subtle and sneaky. Often making people she contacts wonder how she even did it in the first place.

Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Barbara was not one to take it ... er... sitting down. She sought out Richard Dragon, believed to be -the- best martial artist on New Earth (better than even Bruce, Lady Shiva, Dinah or Cassandra Cain), and somehow convinced him to teach her martial arts which would be more useful in her handicapped status - becoming a master of a special version of Richard's own Dragon Style Kung Fu which takes her wheelchair status into account. She is also a master of the melee weapons known as Escrima sticks. High level martial artist opponents who see her as just a helpless crippled woman are often shown that she is difficult to take down easily. Not to mention that many of the top martial artists in the world are either her close friends, mentors, operatives, owe her numerous favors, or all of the above. In almost all cases, they have a healthy respect and even loyalty to her, and she to them as well.

Personality
Joker: "The ol' man must DIE inside every time he sees you. I took your legs... your future.... and now I'll take your --"

Barbara: "Joker..."

Joker stops talking.

Barbara: "You took NOTHING from me."

What drives Barbara is her stubborn streak. It makes sense that she acts like Bruce's conscience so often - she's nearly as persistent and stubborn as he is. She tried to join the police academy and was told no because her father pulled strings to make sure she couldn't. She tried to join the FBI - was told no because of height requirements. It just made her start crimefighting instead with a mask. Batman told her no. She kept doing it anyway until he finally accepted that she wouldnt ever quit. She gets her spine shot out - she doesn't quit.... she reinvented herself to become an even more important crimefighter than Batgirl ever was. Unlike Batman, however, she isnt blind to other considerations beyond 'the mission.' She's still able to have friends, not just 'associates' like Bruce does. She's paranoid, but not to the extremes that Bruce is - she has hope for the future beyond 'The Mission.' Very importantly, she does not want to be pitied for her disability. When confronted by the Joker, she even told him 'You didn't take anything from me.' It kept him quiet when she said that. She also stated it to Nightwing, that she's not keeping stuck in the past, reliving what she's lost like Bruce has. That's not what drives her. She misses being able to walk and do what she did as Batgirl. She misses being able to dance. But she isnt defining herself from what she no longer can do.

Barbara to Dick: "Y'know, a lot of the time, it's like you batguys want me to hold on to the past because YOU can't get over it. Understand... I -HAVE-. I have a new life now. One I like -- One that fulfills me. It's not the same one I had before, but it's GOOD. Maybe even BETTER."

She's stubborn to the point that she's refused, more than a few times, means which would have been able to possibly restore her legs, not wanting preferential treatment that others cannot get. She feels it would be like it would be pity, and pity is something she will not allow anyone to feel for her. Some other quirks about Barbara is she's actually surprisingly prone to violence to get a point across. She's angry about what happened - angry at the Joker. Angry that she and other 'crimefighters' never just ended his life so he couldnt keep doing this sort of thing. Angry that the reason Joker did what he did was so meaningless. He didnt do it because he knew she was Batgirl. He did it because she was there. That's it. She refuses to admit it to herself though. When Dick once tried to psychoanalyze her, she hit his foot with her wheelchair. And she loves Dick Greyson. But she doesn't like being psychoanalyzed.

Another personality quirk of hers is perfectionism. Like Bruce, it's a mantra, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing perfectly. She's not just a hacker - no, she has to be the best hacker in the world. She's not just able to know self defense - no, she winds up going to Richard Dragon, believed to be the best martial artist on New Earth, and somehow convinces him to teach her Dragon Style Kung Fu and Escrima Fighting until she's a master at those styles.

She doesn't just get a law degree from a correspondence course - she takes that correspondence course degree, then goes to Harvard, graduates top of her class, and passes the bar in multiple states. Because she had some free time when her friend was in jail. She doesn't just form a crimefighting group - she forms one which includes even some rather powerful core members, plus a vast worldwide network of support, both through computer networks, with access to almost every system on Earth, and through street teenagers around the world. She doesn't like doing anything 'half way.'

She has trouble letting most people in her shell. She even has trouble letting Bruce past her emotional defenses. She doesn't want to look weak. So far the only ones who've ever managed to have been Dinah (her best friend) and Dick (who she's in love with, and vice versa). They're the only ones she's ever admitted missing ANYTHING about. The best she could say to Bruce was what she said after he broke his back, to try to give him words of support.

"The chair is... difficult. I hope that you, unlike me, can find your way out of it. Goodbye."

Barbara just wants to be seen as useful. Even before the chair, she wanted that. She wants to be able to help people. Her friends, doing things for others to help them - it's what keeps her going. Losing her friends (like when Flo, the head hacker and programmer at Suicide Squad, was killed, or when she's alone to reflect on her own thoughts about being put in the chair) - that depresses her. Not because of what she's become. Not even because of not being able to walk, per se. She misses being able to jump off a building and swing on a line. She misses being able to kick the crap out of a person (even though she can do it with her upper body still). She misses being able to dance. But she'll never let most people know about that.

Bruce cares about one thing - the mission. Barbara cares about PEOPLE, not the mission. She's often the conscience for Bruce, to try to keep him from straying too far from the idea that the whole point OF the Mission is PEOPLE. It's one of the reasons Bruce respects her opinions and often even listens to her. Still, being taught by Bruce did give Barbara insight into how to motivate people, through fear and through psychological means. It's why she was willing to threaten to shut down Suicide Squad's computers permanently if they tried to infiltrate her systems with a virus again. It's how she was able to convince Misfit to stop trying to be Batgirl by showing pictures of what happened to Stephanie after she was tortured by Black Mask. She's willing to use fear tactics. Fear works a lot.

But she goes beyond just using fear. She genuinely cares about her associates. Because most of them are also her friends. Some of them, she sees like sisters, especially Dinah. She once bought an entire apartment building just so she could live near Dinah. Huntress is another. Then there are people to which she feels like she's a big sister - Stephanie, Cassandra, Tim, Misfit, Alice, Proxy, to name a few. There are the people she still sees as confidants and almost father figures - her father (of course), Bruce (who has since become less of a father figure and more of a friend), Alfred. And there are the people who she loves, like Dick. Very often, to all of them she winds up being the 'mother hen' - being Bruce's conscience, Dick's love, Dinah's confidant and best friend, Stephanie, Misfit, and Cassandra's role model. It still often feels she's the den mother in an out of control fraternity.

The Fraternity of the Bat.

It does make her good at being a leader though. In addition to her intelligence gathering and ability to multitask and work under pressure - it's just impressive. She's good at coordinating other heroes in the most effective way possible. In the Birds of Prey, in the Bat Family. In the JLA. It's still another reason she has to keep stuff like the anger she feels about the causes behind her being in the chair, thoughts of why they didnt just kill the Joker rather than letting him keep on escape from Arkham. She often lets loose when training as an outlet for that anger, but it still sometimes shows through as Dick and certain criminals have learned a few times.

NPC'ed Logs

 * 2012-03-02 - Super Bar Fight - The Rumble at Rays - Starfire, Zinda, Huntress, and Hawkman investigate the scene of the Red K drugging... and wind up fighting a killer robot for their lives!
 * 2012-03-04 - Follow the Lead! Er... - Lady Blackhawk and Tre follow another lead on who dosed Kara with Red Kryptonite. Gangland violence ensues!

Player Logs

 * 2012-08-28 - Reach Out and Touch Someone - Oracle contacts Candi - first mutant contact.
 * 2012-08-30 - Visiting the Dragon's Lair - Oracle visits her former martial arts teacher.
 * 2012-09-01 - Prime Anti-Mutant: Trusting Your Heart - Candi and Xavier reach back to Oracle.