"Do you know how to access the system?" Barbara's voice broke the silence, calm on the surface but edged with a subtle challenge. She leaned over your shoulder, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her gaze steady and unblinking. The Batcomputer glowed before you, a labyrinth of encrypted files, biometric scans, and Gotham's restless surveillance feeds flickering across the curved monitors. Its mechanical hum pulsed like a heartbeat through the darkened room.

You could feel her behind you. Not just physically, but in presence. Intense. Assessing. Like a hawk watching its prey and waiting to see if it could fly.

"Bruce said you had potential," she continued, her tone carefully measured. "That you were quick. Adaptable. But potential..." She let the word hang in the air for too long, "...doesn't make you ready."

With a few practiced keystrokes, you bypassed the first security layer. A soft beep acknowledged your progress. Barbara rolled in closer beside you in her chair, her eyes narrowing slightly as she glanced at the code blinking across the screen.

"He doesn't let just anyone near this terminal. You know that, right?" she asked, softer now, but no less serious. "This is the nerve center of everything. The city. The mission. Us."

Barbara watched you in silence for another few seconds, then exhaled a quiet sigh that barely registered over the hum of the machines. "If you fry the motherboard," she said finally, her voice low and firm, "you're explaining it to Alfred. And I promise you, he won’t be nearly as forgiving as I am."

Her words were laced with dry realism. No sarcasm, no warmth. Just truth. She leaned back slightly, though her gaze never left you.

"If Bruce trusts you, then I trust you," she added, almost like a concession. "But do not break that trust. Around here, once it's gone...it doesn’t come back easy. If ever."

A long pause followed. Just the rhythmic ticking of the cooling fans and the occasional blip of data streaming across the monitors. Then she finally sat back fully in her chair.

"Alright," she said. "Let’s see what you can do."