The Exposure of Batgirl!

(This is an arrangement of some of the fabulous work by  OzBattleChick, and a story it inspired me to write. Be sure to see all her art at ozbattlechick.deviant art.com.

On patrol during the wee hours of the night, Batgirl confidently enters an old, darkened warehouse. It is rumored to be a nest of criminal activity, swarming with Gotham's worst. But she'll clean it up!

All at once she hears a footstep. She tenses. And then, out of the darkness, she is attacked from every side by a gang of greasy thugs! Batgirl takes dozens of them down, fighting valiantly. But at last she is overwhelmed and sinks unconscious into the seething mass of men.
Finally Batgirl is at their mercy!

They stand in a circle around her, waiting for the Boss to come. Every thug knows that only HE is allowed to unmask their catch.

But that doesn't stop them from toying with her... tugging at her mask... slipping it up a bit on her pretty face...

... They can almost make out what she looks like beneath her mask.

Finally the Boss strides into the room. "Batgirl, eh? Good work boys! Take her down to our "Interrogation Room. Heh heh heh..."

Once inside their dank, stuffy room, the inevitable occurs. "OK, Ms. Batgirl, it's time to pay you back big time!  Let's just take off that mask of yours and see who you really are!"

The Boss reaches for the unconscious girl's mask, and slowly removes it. He grabs her by the hair and lifts her head so the entire gang can get a clear view. Finally the fantasy of every thug in Gotham has come true: Batgirl has been unmasked before them all! More than a hundred desperate criminals can see her face now. And they all recognize her at once -- it's the face of Barbara Gordon, the police commissioner's daughter!

Batgirl lies helpless and exposed before them, slowly fighting her way out of unconsciousness. Savoring the conquest of their enemy many, of them take souvenir photos of the crime fighter's unmasked face. Softly, as if in a dream, she murmurs, "No, no... please don't..."

Batgirl's most precious secret has finally been revealed. Barbara, the shy librarian, is now completely at their mercy, vulnerable to blackmail and harassment for the rest of her life.  Or else...

The heroine's eyelids flutter as she becomes more aware of her situation. Something isn't right. She can feel air touching her head and face, which should be covered by her mask...

"Oh no," she mumbles hoarsely. "Oh no, no, no, no... not that... please, please... Not My Mask!!!"

At last the"Masked Maiden" regains consciousness and realizes what they've done to her. Instinctively she tried to cover her face and pleads for them to stop looking at her, stop taking pictures of her like this. While the merciless thugs surrounding her laugh at her distress, Batgirl cries out desperately for her mask to be returned. "Please! Don't do this to me! Oh god, please give me back my mask! You don't understand! You mustn't see my face! You can't -- you mustn't!"

Hysterical tears pouring from her eyes, Barbara pitifully begs, "Help me please, someone! Help me! Oh, no -- they've got me... and I'm helpless!"

The genie is out of the bottle. Dozens and dozens of leering crooks know that being her mask Batgirl is really Barbara Gordon!