The New Titans: Family Attractions

• Credits: by Libbylawrence
• Published: July 13, 2001
• Link: The New Titans: Family Attractions

April, 1986: The Flash II brings Frances Kane to Gotham City to meet Nightwing and her distant relative, Betty Kane (Bat-Girl). After Frances is kidnapped by four mind-controlled men, Nightwing and Bat-Girl track them down to an old lair of Doctor Polaris. After defeating the villain, they are captured by Queen Bee, who used the mind-controlled men to lure them into defeating Polaris. Together, he and Frances are used as a power source for the Queen Bee to regain her mobility. Bat-Girl manages to break through to Doctor Polaris' normal personality, Dr. Neal Emerson, and the heroes defeat Queen Bee. Betty becomes Batgirl and plans to get a new costume. [“The New Titans: Family Attractions”]

• April, 1986: Four men are mentally compelled by an unknown source to travel to Gotham City to find Frances Kane. The Flash II (Wally West) brings Frances Kane to Gotham City to visit Nightwing (Dick Grayson), who promised to track down Frances' distant relations so she could have a family bond. Nightwing discovers that his old friend Betty Kane (Bat-Girl) is Frances' distant relative, and they plan to meet at the Gotham Plaza Hotel. At the hotel, Betty is reunited with Dick and meets Wally and Frances. The four mind-controlled men burst in to Betty's hotel room and manage to capture both Wally and Frances. [“The New Titans: Family Attractions, Chapter 1: Distant Relations”]
• Dick Grayson and Betty Kane discover that Wally West and Frances Kane have been kidnapped from Betty's hotel room. After picking up a Bat-Girl costume from Kathy Kane's old mansion, Betty and Dick as Bat-Girl and Nightwing examine the hotel cameras and discover that the five men each have connections to the villainous Doctor Polaris. When the Flash II's Titans signal suddenly activates, Nightwing and Bat-Girl track the signal to a lighthouse in Maine. Reaching the lighthouse, the heroes battle the mind-controlled men and then defeat Doctor Polaris, only to discover that he was set up by Queen Bee, who wanted them to defeat Polaris all along so she could use him as a power source. Queen Bee captures the heroes. [“The New Titans: Family Attractions, Chapter 2: Girl Sidekick, the Sequel”]
• Bat-Girl awakes to find Frances Kane and Doctor Polaris being used as energy sources to allow Queen Bee to regain her lost mobility. While Nightwing and the Flash are being controlled by Queen Bee's toxins, the villainess leaves Bat-Girl alone after deeming her no threat and leaves. At Nightwing's suggestion, Bat-Girl manages to break through to Doctor Polaris' other personality, Dr. Neal Emerson, who takes over. The loss of Polaris' energy allows Emerson to escape, while Queen Bee returns. The heroes defeat her, and Bat-Girl reassures Frances that she is special. Dr. Emerson thanks the heroes and returns to his normal life, while his friends and family (the mind-controlled men) are restored to normal. Betty Kane decides to resume her heroic career under the name Batgirl and calls the Mad Mod to design her a new costume. [“The New Titans: Family Attractions, Chapter 3: Magnetic Personalities”]