"Batgirl, trouble."

"Is it Big? And located in Little China? No? Haven't seen that one either? It's good. Kurt Russel's in it. Still like him better as Snake Plissken though."

With an exasperated sigh, in which Steph knew Wendy was either hanging her head or pinching the bridge of her nose, there was a pause before Proxy began to speak, wearily.

"Do you ever stop talking? Especially about random sh*t?"

"I was in an alien dream spore coma once."

"Why'd they revive you?"

"They didn't. I fought it and won. Can't get rid of me that easily. What's the problem?"

"Right. Armed hold up in the Heights. Hostages. GCPD can't get in. Your friend Gage is on the scene trying to negotiate but there doesn't seem to be any progress."

"On it…"

It wasn't hard to spot the cordoned off area around the general store, the flashing lights of the patrol cars being used as both barricades and shields in the case of a shoot out, Batgirl slowly sank into a crouch a few rooftops down, and scanned the area, looking out for not only potentially overly enthusiastic reporters trying to get a scoop, but police sharpshooters with vantage points.
Confident she wouldn't be taken out if she went to help, scanning the GCPD clustered around having what seemed to be a meeting of the minds for her man on the inside, as it were, Detective Nick Gage, she whipped a notepad and pen from one of her belt pockets, scribbled a quick message, folded it around a batarang.
Hopping a few rooftops to be closer, the cluster dispersed, returning to what would have been planned positions, she took aim and hit the door of the patrol car to Gages left. Seeing the batarang, Gage grabbed it, looked around and checked the note.

Here to help. Keep attention on you. I'm going in.

By the time he worked out Batgirl would have been above and behind him, she was gone. Working her way across to the back of the general store, shushing the GCPD stationed to watch the backlot that spotted her, sinking to a crouch, preparing to start working on the lock, she waited to hear Gage talking over the bullhorn again. She didn't care what he was saying, as long as he was keeping the attention on him.
After a few minutes of working her tools, the lock clicked open, and Steph slipped inside, but not before indicating to the patrolmen with a 'watch here' motion, quietly leaving a box in the way to keep the door propped open.
Once inside, she quickly realised the backdoor was the back office and storage area. From here she could see the entire store on the security system. Frowning slightly, she leant in to the monitor to get a better grip on the situation. Two men, armed with shotguns, one on hostage duty, having them all sit with their backs against the freezers, pacing along them at the back of the store, the other pacing back and forward across the front of the store, engaging with Gage, holding one person to him to discourage anyone taking shots at him.
A young girl. Wait…

'Oh, you scumbag. I'm breaking your face six ways to Sunday.'

Steph clenches her jaw and begins to set up her plan.
Crouching low, and scouting her way out of the office to the freezer aisle, picking up a bag of flour along the way.
Seeing one of the hostages before she saw the gunman, being told to sit on his hands on the floor in the frozen goods aisle, she raised a gloved finger to her lips, and offered a small smile. The expression of hope that lit up his face, that seemed to spread down the row, filled Steph with a renewed focus, and sense of purpose. Reeling her flour arm back, she peaked around the freezer cabinets, and let it skid along the ground to a place about five feet from her, before popping back around, listening.

"Hey. Who's playing games? If any one'a ya bastards thinks you're getting outta here I got news for yous."

As the voice grew closer, glancing in the weak, warped reflection of the glass doors, she burst around the corner as he bent down to pick up the flour, driving her knee into his face, ripping the gun from his unprepared grip, and wrapping her arms around his throat in a very quick, very un-Steph-like guillotine choke.
She would have normally much rather taunted and quipped more, but time and place. She will never tell anyone she can do things professionally, and will deny it until she dies. you know, again.
Taking the unconscious form to the ground with nary more than a grunt from him being kneed in the face, she motioned for the freed hostages to follow her quietly, leading them to the office door, eyes on the front of the store, the back and forth between Detective Gage and the other dumbass still a background drone to her at this point.
A woman she recognised as Mrs Little, gripped at her arm, whispering frantically.

"I can't go, he has my baby."

"I know. I'm going to get Nell right now, I promise. But I can't focus on that if I'm worried about you too. Please trust me with this."

With an incredibly reluctant nod, and a firmer squeeze to Stephs arm, Mrs Little slowly crept out to inevitably argue with the GCPD about being checked out until her daughter was safely in her arms, leaving Steph to work out just how she was gonna make that happen.

Slowly slipping further into the store, heart pounding in her ears, she decided today was the day to play this by Bruce's rules. She wasn't gonna be able to exactly 'hope' them outta this one.
Time for fear. Sorta.

'God, I hope this works…'

She closes her eyes, takes a long, slow breath, holds it, and exhales.

'What would Cass do?'

With that thought in mind, she pushed onwards, fingers probing for the appropriate tools in her belt for this job. Behind the row of shelving, flicking down her infrared lenses, Batgirl flicked her handful of smoke pellets into the entryway of the store and waited for it to fill, straightening as she heard the startled cry.

"The Bat. F***ing cops! It was all a trick! Stay back you bat bastard, or I'll blow her head off!"

Steph could see the forms whipping around frantically in the smoke, the gun waving around, as he searched in vain for the vigilante. Unable to help herself, as she took a few steps closer, lenses glowing eerily in the smoke, she spoke.

"Oh, so close. A Bat. The big guy hasn't got time for the likes of nobodies like you."

"Batgirl!"

Nell Little, the only hostage left, with her tear streaked face perked up. Cracking a half smile, Steph prepared her next move.

"Hi Nell. Sit tight a second for me, ok?"

Now with the gun leveled at her, where she preferred it to be, Steph bent her knees slightly, preparing to move.

"Shut your mouth, you bat bitch!"

"How about you call your partner for some back up. Oh, right. You can't… I dealt with that already…"

There it was. He slipped. Glancing towards the back of the store and lowering his grip, she beckoned for Nell to run to her. Creating separation between them, Batgirl drew her grapple, fired it, and coiled her line around the girls torso, retracting it, pulling Nell into her body and covering her with as much of herself as possible, as well as the cape, because she knew what was coming.
The gunshot was loud, as was Nell's scream, especially in the store that has been as quiet as a grave until this point. At ten feet out, the spread of buckshot was non existent, which was good for Nell, nice and shielded away, bad for Steph, or more specifically, Steph's back.
Sure, the suits were bullet resistant, but you still feel a shotgun blast at near point blank range.
Grunting, she pushed through. She could deal with pain, split skin, bruising, blood in her suit, whatever later. Nell was still in danger. Pushing out of her coiled crouch, picking up Nell and carrying her around behind the row of shelving, she set her down, as she heard the gun rack back another shot.

"When I go back out there, go hide. Don't come out until I say."

Nodding, Nell turned, ready to dart off, as Steph dove across the floor, rolling, creating distance between herself and where Nell would be running before the shot would be fired.
The blast sounded again, the spread catching the tail end of her cape as it followed her dive. She was beginning to understand why they had shotguns for this job. Expert marksmen they were not.

"How many shots did you fire off while getting everyone under control? You've fired two at me. Are you keeping track? You won't wanna reload under pressure… do you even know how to reload?"

Watching him rack it back again, glancing down almost worriedly, she darted to her feet, running at him headlong.
With an almost startled expression, he pointed the barrel at her again.

'Now!'

Sidestepping as he pulled the trigger again, continuing to close the gap, teeth clenched as the spray of pellets tore over her shoulder, she was on him.
Snagging the shotgun from his stunned grasp, and driving the butt of the stock sharply into his face, resisting the urge to do so repeatedly, and only driving a foot into his ribs as he hit the floor, unconscious, and bleeding from the face, she slid her lenses back, the smoke mostly dissipated now.

"That was SO COOL! You dodged his bullets! Like a ninja!"

Scowling and whipping around to see Nell peering around the edge of the shelving, she sighed slightly.

"I told you to go hide…"

Smiling sheepishly at Steph, the Batgirl just shook her head and smiled back, moving somewhat gingerly over to her, and crouching.

"C'mon. Let's get you back to your mom. She's worried sick…"

Nell responded by throwing her arms around Steph. Softly squeezing the younger girl, putting a hand to the back of her head, Steph lead Nell outside.
The second Mrs Little saw Batgirl with Nell, she charged past the police line, and threw her arms around both of them, sobbing. It took everything Steph had to not yelp in pain.

"Told you I'd get her out for you…"

She managed to say softly, to a peel of laughter from all of them.

"How am I ever meant to thank you?"

Steph just shook her head.

"Just doing my job…"

Smiling as she watched Nell and her mother finally giving in, and allowing themselves to be checked out by the paramedics on scene, there was a tap on her shoulder.

"This belongs to you…"

Nick Gage drops the batarang between his fingers into her grasp, with an exhausted smile.

"Oh yeah. Thanks for keeping him busy. Totally helped."

"Thanks for making sure no-one got shot. I didn't need that paperwork."

"What makes you think no-one got shot? Bats don't count on your paperwork anyway."

She grinned at the confusion, then realization spreading across his face, firing her grapple off, and saluting a goodbye, before whimpering in pain once she was out of ear shot.