Batgirl #22

Issue Details

Synopsis

STRANGE LOOP PART 1 Batgirl is skulking around an apartment where a man wearing odd headgear and wielding some kind of ray gun is threatening his ex-wife and children. Batgirl bursts into the apartment right when the man fires his weapon and gets struck by an energy blast. It doesn't appear to have any effect, and Batgirl proceeds to take down and turn over the man.  The next day, Barbara is taking a stroll down Burnside Farmers Market and happens upon Kai Ma. Later, Barbara is catching up with Kai and admits she feels she is stuck in a rut.   The next day, Barbara thinks maybe she should spend time on some of her old hobbies, like mixed martial arts. Considering to get back to training, Barbara checks a nearby gym and runs into May Hao. Barbara can't believe she has found another friend from her Asia trip around Burnside in the same week, but she listens as May tells she was forced to move back to Burnside and open another gym. Both girls go in the gym as they talk, and Barbara notes her friend oddly changed. All of sudden, May gets angry and storms off.   Barbara changes clothes and follows her into the bad part of the town. Batgirl sees May going in a warehouse and sneaks into. Batgirl finds a surgical room and she is looking for more clues when she hears screaming. Batgirl follows the scream back to its source and discovers an underground ring. Batgirl breaks off a clandestine fight and tries to persuade May to come with her. May is ordered to kill her and is shot with a mind-control ray gun when she refuses to.   Batgirl tries to fight May off, but she gets knocked out. As unconscious she's greeted by Fruit Bat, who tells her all happened since she got shot in that apartment has been a figment of her own imagination. It's because that she feels she is going nowhere. Batgirl has to find a way out of her mind loop or she'll die.