And don't leave her alone.
: Oracle (Barbara Gordon)- I never will.
: Batgirl (Cassandra Cain)
Batgirls #16 is an issue of the series Batgirls (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 2023. It was published on March 14, 2023.
Synopsis for "Everyone's Mad Here!"
Officer Brooks delivers the note left at Grace O'Halloran's apartment to the Batgirls. It is an invitation for a "tea party" to them from the Mad Hatter. They quickly follow a trail of white rabbit graffiti to an abandoned warehouse in Gotham's garment district. Inside they find a set of life-sized puppets resembling the Bat-Family sat at a table, and the Hatter's voice broadcasting from a gramophone.
The puppets get up and attack the Batgirls, who make short work of them. As they destroy the puppets, Stephanie asks the Hatter why he brought her father back to life and he tells her that he needed her to be feeling extreme emotions when she arrived. Oracle tracks the Hatter's signal and tells them that he is in the building on a higher floor. Before they can search for him, a gas shoots out of the gramophone and hits Stephanie. The gas is revealed to be an aerosolised form of the Man-Bat serum as Stephanie mutates into "Girl-Bat". Barbara tells Cassandra to keep Stephanie occupied until she can synthesise the antidote and get it to them.
Girl-Bat attacks Cassandra in a feral rage; Cass dodges for a while, but refuses to fight her friend. She is able to get through to Stephanie by reminding her of when she woke up from a nightmare of being alone, and Stephanie told her that she would never be alone again. Regaining her senses, Stephanie launches them both up to the Mad Hatter's hideout. They easily overpower him and hand him over to the GCPD.
Stephanie flies her and Cassandra back to the Clock Tower, where Barbara is waiting with a dart gun loaded with the Man-Bat antidote. Cassandra tells her not to shoot Stephanie but to let her fly to work out her feelings. When she is ready, she returns to the tower and lets Babs inject her. After returning to normal she sleeps for twelve straight hours with Cassandra watching over her.
Appearing in "Everyone's Mad Here!"
Featured Characters:
- Batgirls
- Batgirl (Cassandra Cain)
- Batgirl/Girl-Bat (Stephanie Brown) (First appearance as Girl-Bat)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mad Hatter
- Puppets (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Bat-Family (Mentioned only)
- Batman (Bruce Wayne) (Mentioned only)
- Robin (Tim Drake) (Mentioned only)
- Cluemaster (Mentioned only)
- Commissioner Montoya (Mentioned only)
- Grace O'Halloran (Mentioned only)
- Man-Bat (Kirk Langstrom) (Mentioned only)
- Walter Arnold Greene (Deceased) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Garment District
- GCPD Headquarters
- Gotham Clock Tower
Items:
- Bat-Signal
- Batsuits
- Lazarus Serum (Mentioned only)
- Man-Bat Serum
Vehicles:
See Also